Understanding Equivalences in Gasoline and Electricity

Re: the photo here, a reader notes: There are 33.7 KWh in a gallon of gas. At those prices, you would have to spend $5.38 on the electric to get the equivalent ‘umph’ as the gas.

What he fails to understand, of course, is that internal combustion engines are about 20% efficient, as opposed to the charging and discharging of batteries, which is about 80% efficient.

Also, the processes by which gasoline is made are themselves horrifically inefficient.  Imagine extracting tar sands in Alberta, sending it to Houston, refining it, and distributing it to the nation’s gas stations.