Mass-market electric cars are set to go on sale in the United States next month and with $325 billion spent on gasoline last year, utilities are understandably eager to get in on the action. Amid the anticipation for these more environmentally friendly vehicles is a sense of trepidation from utility companies however, as they brace for the expected surge in demand for electrical power, according to The Washington Post.

The heart of the matter is the capacity of the electrical transformers used to distribute power from the electrical grid into homes. A typical electrical car will draw 1,500 watts when plugged into a standard 120-volt socket, noted The Post. A home charging station will allow the cars to recharge much faster, though they vary from 3,300 watts--which could be boosted to 6,600 watts soon--for cars such as the Nissan Leaf, to 16,800 watts required for the Tesla Roadster.

When compared to a typical San Francisco Bay home, averaging just 3,000 watts, it is easy to see why utility companies are scrambling to upgrade transformers in areas where the electric cars are expected to see higher demand. Teams of utility workers from are identifying clusters of electric car owners and ensuring equipment capacity is adequate in those locations.

Despite their efforts, the consensus appears to be that there will be teething problems. Mike Rowand from Duke Energy compared it to having a baby. Rowand says: "You know it's going to be good, but you also know there's going to be some throw up and some dirty diapers, and you just hope that it's something you are prepared for." Time to purchase a good uninterruptible power supply for your home computer perhaps?

For more on this story:
- check out this article at The Washington Post

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