About Senseper
Why we built this, and who's behind it.
Senseper was built to answer a question that seemed simple but turned out to be surprisingly hard to find a straight answer to: in my state, right now, is it cheaper to drive a plug-in hybrid on gas or electricity?
The EPA's MPGe rating — the miles-per-gallon equivalent number on every EV window sticker — was designed to answer exactly this question. But it was calibrated for a world where electricity and gasoline tracked each other in price. That relationship broke down starting around 2021, as residential electricity rates rose sharply across the Northeast and parts of California while remaining low in the Pacific Northwest. The Strait of Hormuz disruption in early 2026 added another layer: gasoline prices spiked 35% nationally in two months while electricity rates didn't move. The result is a fuel cost map that now varies wildly by geography — and a federal efficiency label that conveys none of it.
What this site does
Senseper shows the real per-mile fuel cost for a plug-in hybrid in every U.S. state, using current AAA gas prices and EIA residential electricity rates. You can adjust the vehicle's MPG and electric efficiency, your annual mileage, and the share of miles driven in each mode. State pages break down the numbers regionally and give context on why a given state lands where it does.
The calculator defaults to January 2026 (pre-Hormuz baseline) gas prices. This separates the structural electricity-vs-gas cost shift — which has been building for years and won't go away when the geopolitical situation changes — from the current spike. There's a toggle to see current prices as well.
Data sources
Gas prices are AAA state averages (current: May 20, 2026; baseline: January 2026). Electricity rates are EIA residential averages (latest available: February 2026 — EIA publishes with a ~90-day lag). Vehicle defaults are based on the Toyota RAV4 Prime PHEV (38 MPG gas mode, 3.3 mi/kWh electric mode) — a widely sold plug-in hybrid with well-documented real-world efficiency. Full methodology and caveats are on the Methodology page.
Contact
Corrections, data updates, or questions — use the feedback form.