Gas Prices Hit $6.10? Sacramento Drivers Are Going Electric and Saving Big

Sacramento’s gas pumps just hit a sobering milestone: $6.10 per gallon, up from $5.05 just a year ago. But for a growing number of local drivers, that sticker shock is becoming someone else’s problem.

Michelle Reynolds, an Uber driver who’s been in Sacramento for 11 years, made the switch to electric two years ago. Driving 300 to 500 miles daily—far beyond what most EVs are designed for—she’s found that even with those demanding miles, she’s making it work.“It’s so cheap when I charge at home,”Reynolds said.“It’s fractional for what I pay in the gas vehicle.”She’s kept her gas car as backup, but she barely touches it anymore. The math is just too good to ignore.

Interest in going electric is surging, according to car shopping site Edmunds, and it’s easy to see why. Peter Mackin, president of SacEV, a Sacramento-based electric vehicle enthusiast group, says the economics are compelling. If you can charge at home, you’re looking at saving over $1,700 a year.“Even if you have to run an extension cord out of the garage and plug your car in that way, EV is a no-brainer,”Mackin said. The early days of EVs required serious DIY work—ripping out drivetrains and installing batteries yourself—but today’s market offers plenty of off-the-shelf options that don’t require a garage full of engineering skills.

Of course, the math changes if you can’t charge at home. Victor Mendoza, who drives from the Bay Area to Sacramento three days a week for work, has learned that lesson the hard way. Without a home charger, he’s dependent on public infrastructure—which exists here, but requires planning. Charging at a DC fast charger gets you to 80% in 20 minutes to an hour, while older Level 1 chargers (standard wall outlets) can take 40 to 50 hours for a full charge. Level 2 home chargers, the sweet spot for most EV owners, take 4 to 10 hours and cost $5,000 to $6,000 extra upfront when buying a new electric car. That’s a significant hurdle—unless you live in Sacramento and can tap into SMUD’s Charge@Home program, which offers up to $600 in incentives to cover installation costs.

Louie Dias, a Product Services Coordinator at SMUD and an EV owner himself, describes the Level 2 experience simply:“It’s honestly just as easy as plugging in your cell phone at night. When you wake up in the morning, it’s full, it’s ready to go.”SMUD also offers lower energy rates to EV owners and free EV advisors to any customer considering the leap. Those incentives, combined with soaring gas prices, are quietly reshaping how Sacramento drivers think about their commutes. The question isn’t whether EVs work anymore—it’s whether you can afford not to switch.