Don Brunell - Electric cars will be a shock to the grid

Electric cars are the new wave in automobile technology. Many see them as the way to cut greenhouse gas emissions because they plug in rather than fuel up. Nissan’s Leaf and Chevrolet’s Volt are coming to car showrooms, the first in what is expected to be a wide variety of electric vehicles.

To promote the use of electric cars, Congress authorized a $7,500 federal tax credit for the purchase of an electric car, and the state of Washington exempts electric cars and most hybrids from the state’s sales tax.

Our state also received $1.32 million in federal stimulus money to install electric vehicl...