As EV adoption grows and electricity demand increases, power prices will rise sharply — making the claimed fuel cost savings disappear and burdening all electricity customers, including those who don't own EVs.
Electricity pricing is determined by a complex mix of generation costs, transmission infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, and policy decisions, and it varies significantly across Canadian provinces. It is true that grid expansion requires capital investment, and that some of that cost is ultimately reflected in electricity rates.
What this concern typically overlooks is the comparison point. Even accounting for potential electricity price increases, the cost to drive an EV in Canada remains dramatically lower than the cost to fuel a gasoline vehicle. Clean Energy Canada has calculated that at typical Canadian electricity rates, charging an EV is equivalent to paying approximately 40 cents per litre for gasoline — a fraction of current pump prices in every province. Canadian EV drivers save an estimated $3,000 per year in fuel costs on average. Electricity rates would have to rise dramatically and gasoline prices would have to fall dramatically — simultaneously — to close that gap.
Off-peak rate structures, already in place with utilities in Ontario, BC, and elsewhere, also protect EV drivers from peak pricing while encouraging grid-friendly charging behaviour.