The trick of the night that makes the electric car cost 76% less than gasoline

The adoption of the White Tariff combined with the recharging of electric vehicles during the night can reduce the cost of fueling by up to 76% compared to a gasoline-powered car. This is the conclusion of a study by TR Soluções, a company specializing in tariff projections for the electricity sector.

The modality charges different amounts according to the time of consumption and divides the day into three ranges:

• off-peak, when the demand of the system is lower;
• peak, in the late afternoon and early evening, when consumption skyrockets;
• intermediate, in the transition between the two periods.

The logic is to encourage the use of the network at times of less pressure. To arrive at the numbers, the survey considered a route of 1,000 kilometers per month and yields of 6 km/kWh for electric, 12 km/l for gasoline and 8.5 km/l for ethanol. The calculations used gasoline at R$ 6.29 and ethanol at R$ 4.21 per liter, in addition to Cemig’s low voltage tariffs already with ICMS, PIS/Pasep and Cofins.

In this scenario, the monthly expenditure reaches R$ 524 with gasoline and R$ 495 with ethanol. The electric car, even at the conventional rate, costs R$ 197 per month — 62% less than the gasoline car. By restricting recharging to the interval between 11 pm and 8 am, the cheapest range of the White Tariff, the bill drops to R$ 126, a saving of 76%.

The study also simulated the worst-case scenario, with recharging concentrated at peak hours: the cost rises to R$ 355 per month, but is still 32% below what is spent on gasoline.

The gains are not limited to the driver’s pocket. According to TR Soluções, adjusting the recharge schedule helps optimize the use of electrical infrastructure and can postpone investments in network expansion. “The microeconomic viability of electromobility is now intrinsically linked to the consumer’s discretion over their charging schedules,” says Helder Sousa, the company’s Director of Regulation.

The alert comes next: disorderly and concentrated recharges at times of greater demand can overload substations and local feeders. The detail is not trivial — the daily consumption of a plug-in electric can be equivalent to that of an entire middle-class residence, according to the study.

Created by Aneel’s Normative Resolution No. 733/2016 and in force since 2018, the White Tariff is heir to the Yellow Tariff, conceived in 1985 and which never got off the ground.