Public News Service detailed the state’s growing need for electric vehicles, quoting Virginia AEE’s Harry Godfrey on the benefits for Virginians. Read snippets below and the full story here. 

RICHMOND, Va. - As gas stations in Virginia wait for refueling after the Colonial Pipeline shutdown, advocates of electric vehicles say the gas shortage highlights the need to diversify America's energy system.

The pipeline is the Southeast's primary source of fuel, so this week's cyberattack on it has disrupted daily life for millions.

Harry Godfrey - executive director of the group Virginia Advanced Energy Economy - said some folks couldn't get to work or get kids to school, and points to the vulnerability of a fossil-fuel transportation system because of its reliance on oil, a single source.

Godfrey said an electric system draws power from multiple sources and can bounce back more readily from a breakdown.

"From wind and solar generators, from nuclear plants, from hydro," said Godfrey, "a whole range of resources so that you're not overly reliant upon one individual fuel source. I think that reduces not just the risk of failure but the risk of, you know, sudden price spikes that we're seeing occur now."

He said the American Jobs Plan aims to fund a transition from oil-dependent cars to electric vehicles, which would help with gas shortages in the future…

Godfrey pointed out that it's low-income car owners, who need transportation the most to get to work, are the ones who can least afford the higher prices and lack of fuel.

"What that tells me is that it is incredibly important that they have access to this more resilient, less price-volatile form of transportation," said Godfrey.

Read the full story here.