If you're in a rural area with a little space to spare solar might be a good option.
It's ridiculously cheap now. A co-worker just purchased a 11kW system for $7k. That's ~$5k after the tax credit. The average cost of electricity over the 20 year life of the system will be ~$0.015/kWh. 11kW of solar will generate ~17,000 kWh/yr in Texas.
Texas is a great place for grid-tied solar. It's got a lot of sun and they have a de-regulated electric market. Since daytime power is currently more valuable than night time power it's possible to get paid more for the excess energy you export during the day than they charge for what you import at night.
The only concern for me is where to put it. I suppose it could go on the roof, but hail is also a problem. Both my house and my mother's house were recently declared total loss from 45 minutes of golf ball sized hail (along with all 3 of my cars).
But, this still take out of context my original concern that the cost per mile is but a penny cheaper than my TDI, based on my cost per mile for this year's driving (which is only about 8000 miles for the JSW).
It looks like I might've been off and we're actually paying closer to 9 cents per kWh. Even so, bills around $300/mo in the summertime are pretty normal (but that's for 2 houses with HVAC and appliances, 3 refrigerators, 2 chest freezers, a spa that's on all the time, a full rack of servers and network gear, air compressors, etc).
I know the co-op has solar options, although the cost is higher. I guess it's for those who want the good feeling of using sustainable energy. Solar isn't off the table, but implementing it and insuring it in the event of a weather catastrophe will be a hurdle for us.
I think one of the reasons that the batteries take such a hit in either cold of winter or heat of summer is the amount of time that the car is sitting in traffic. If the average commute is only 20 miles per day, I wonder how much time that commute takes. For me, my 7 mile commute now takes anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes depending on time. If there's something going on to block the main routes, I've had that 7 miles take 90 minutes.
For me, it's different. Depending on whether I have a dog or other animals in the car, I might have the HVAC running all the time. My commutes vary; the lowest would be about 35 miles round trip if I'm going to the local lumber yard with a trailer, 65 miles round trip if it's the grocery store, but 170-180 miles round trip for Costco or other errands is pretty normal. Does the Tesla have different mileage ranges based on speed? The speed limits vary between 65-75, although I usually set cruise on the interstate around 79. I also make regular runs for livestock feed - one is only 80 miles, but I have some very steep 7-10% grades, which, in the Golf, require 3rd gear to maintain 50 with a trailer, loaded or empty. The other feed run is 380 miles round trip - empty on the way up, about 2200-2700 lbs being towed on the way back. No EV charging options are on that route (it's 100% rural).
At least in winter, with a very low traffic commute, but a short trip (about 5 miles), I see a colossal fuel economy hit on my Prius due to having to start the ICE for cabin heating.
Summer, OTOH, I don't see much of a hit unless I'm stopping every couple of miles to do something.
There'll be a degree of commonality here with EV behavior, at least...
I remember a similar hit with my Prius, but how much more of a hit with an EV? I would presume Tesla or other manufacturers' estimates are based on perfect driving conditions - flat road without a grade, no HVAC, no headlights, and an unknown speed, probably 55, but no clue.
Keep in mind that 12 cents/kWh may be your base rate. Extra fees such as delivery, distribution, transmission, local access, etc may apply. As I mentioned earlier, my base rate last month was 3.9 cents but my net cost worked out to 9.6 cents after fees & taxes. Here's my latest bill:
The poco credited $120 from the previous period and charged everything again. The energy charge for February was only $29.48 but with fees & taxes - $73.09. That disparity between what electricity costs and what we actually pay drives me nuts.
This may be the first that I've agreed with nwdiver. If you use electricity for everything, you probably are the perfect candidate for solar.
I already know I am, but like I said, it's the logistics. I'm also jealous with how cheap your electricity is.