Westford Climate Action to host electric vehicle events

April 11, 2024

42 2 minutes read

Untitled design6 — EV group Emily Teller photo.jpeg

WESTFORD —Westford Climate Action is hosting two electric vehicle events, among several other happenings this April.

The organization is celebrating Earth Month with a variety of events to promote sustainability within the community.

Clean Energy and Sustainability Committee members Gerry DiBello and Tom Teller are working to organize both events.

“It’s a good time to do this sort of thing before people go on vacation,” DiBello said. “We wanted to be able to do an inside and an outside event.”

The organization is hosting an informational session at the Millennium School and via Zoom on April 11 at 7 p.m., where Green Energy Consumers Alliance Electric Vehicle Program Director Anna Vanderspek will lead a presentation for residents to learn the basics of electric vehicles.

Residents speak on electric vehicles

“The idea is that anybody who doesn’t know about electric cars, we hope to educate on what they are and how they compare to cars that burn ‘dinosaur squeezing,’” DiBello said. “We’re hoping at the end, if anybody has any questions, we can answer them.”

DiBello, who leases a Tesla Model 3, says his transition to an electric vehicle has saved him time and money on vehicle maintenance.

“I’ve only paid to have the cabin air filter changed and tires rotated in the last three and a half years. The brakes don’t wear, because you hardly have to use them,” he said.

He added, “with a Tesla, they come to your house [to do maintenance].”

Teller, who also owns an electric vehicle, says he has ‘very carefully tracked’ his home electrical usage since purchasing his vehicle.

“Most of our charging is at home. Our cost delivered to the car is about $.237 per kWh,” Teller said. “The total cost of electricity per mile is about $.023. Even the gasoline we put in our Prius cost more than that.”

Teller did note that though his vehicle has saved him money, there are additional time considerations for prospective buyers who travel often.

“”In terms of the impact to our trip planning, it doesn’t really impact it. But in terms of the range, it has less than our gas Subaru. We have to stop every 200 miles,” he said.

He added, “but we didn’t buy the EV to experience the charging lifestyle, but that’s just part of the cost. The ownership experience is extremely comfortable with good safety systems.”

Both DiBello and Teller said that several tax credits, including an up to $6,000 state tax credit through the MOR-EV program, helped defray costs of their vehicles.