You don't see a whole lot of electric vehicles on Susquehanna Valley roads right now.

Fewer than 1% of registered vehicles in Pennsylvania are electric. That is about 30,000.

But more drivers are deciding to plug in rather than fill up.

James Johnson, of Lancaster County, is one of them.

"If I can save a nickel, I'll go out of my way to save that nickel. I'm going to save tons of money by not buying fuel," he said.

The target year President Joe Biden set for new vehicle sales to be at least 50% electric is 2030.

Pennsylvania has its own roadmap to put more electric vehicles on the road. The state Department of Environmental Protection said it will improve our air quality, save drivers money and create new jobs.

Right now, there are fewer than 2,000 public charging stations in the state. The new goal is 2,000 more by 2028.

But the road to electric vehicles isn't an easy drive. There are bumps for drivers as they adjust to the changes.

"One of the hardest things for EVs is highway miles, really high speeds and big hills," Johnson said.

There are the impacts on electricity, power grids, power companies and possibly to the electric rates we all pay.

"The problem with that then is that you have to build the system out to serve the new peak demand, which increases prices and rates for everybody, which is what we're trying to avoid," said Brendon Baatz, with ChargEVC-PA.

For a state like Pennsylvania that relies so heavily on gas taxes, going electric will likely mean changes to how we are taxed.

And electric vehicles also present a whole new safety concern for first responders because their lithium-ion batteries may pose a fire or explosion hazard.

The transition to more charged vehicles is happening – maybe slowly, but it's happening. The road there is still the big question.

"After having driven electric cars, I can't see myself ever going back to driving a gasoline car again," James Johnson said.

You could say that Johnson, of Lancaster County, is all-in on electric vehicles. His family owns three of them.

"When I'm driving an electric vehicle, it's, like, $3 a week," he said.

Johnson said that breaks down to about three cents a mile. It's a real attraction for a guy who admits that he's cheap.

"The biggest negative was the upfront cost. For somebody that's cheap, finding $42,000 to buy a car was a big challenge," he said.

Then there is the cost of the charger.

Most EVs come with their own Level 1 charger. It plugs into your home outlet but takes eight to 12 hours to completely charge a vehicle.

A Level 2 charger is what Johnson owns. It requires a 240-volt connection and a different plug. It can cost anywhere from $500 to $2,000 and charges the vehicle in four to six hours.

There is also a Level 3 commercial charger, known as a fast charger.

Johnson is very familiar with these fast chargers. Almost every weekend, he travels to Pittsburgh in his EV to work in a hospital.

A supercharger found in some gas stations can juice up an EV in as little as 20 to 30 minutes.

Johnson said a 20-minute charge costs about $4.

By now, Johnson is familiar with the location of just about every rapid charger on his 248-mile route to Pittsburgh.

His vehicle has a range of 253 miles, so he usually has to stop once on every trip.

He also said cold weather and really hot weather affect the battery.

Driving an EV does require a bit of a lifestyle change, according to Johnson, especially if you are planning a longer trip.

"It's prudent to look and see where the chargers are along your route. There's apps for that and to check them and make sure they're up and running," he said.

Johnson said he sees more EVs on the road by the day and prides himself on being a bit of a pioneer for driving electric vehicles.

"Chances of changing the world by yourself are pretty slim, but by setting a good role model, maybe the next generation will be better," he said.

Sanjay Chaudhuri bought a Tesla a few weeks ago. He said it's already been life-changing, and he's paying a lot less to travel.

"I'm coming from some pretty big gas guzzlers, and it's been really nice," he said.

More electric vehicles on the road could lead to fewer gallons of gas being pumped. In Pennsylvania, that means fewer dollars collected through the state gas tax – a major source of funding for road and bridge projects that have already been declining for years.

Some state lawmakers are already talking about a new fee for electric vehicle drivers based on how many miles they drive to help make up for the lost gas tax revenue.

"If customers are coming home at the end of the day and all plugging in their electric vehicles at the same time, you're going to have a large spike of peak demand," said Brendon Baatz, with ChargEVC-PA.

Baatz said increased demand for power, particularly in the summer and winter, is also a concern. He said electric providers may eventually have to improve or expand infrastructure to keep up with demand at peak times.

"The problem with that then is that you have to build the system out to serve the new peak demand, which increases prices and rates for everybody, which is what we're trying to avoid here," Baatz said.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission created a working group to look into potential changes to electric rates for vehicle charging. One idea being considered is for utilities to charge discounted rates for electricity overnight to encourage EV users to plug in when demand is low.

"Instead of charging at 6, when you get home, you could save a lot of money if you go home and charge at 10 or 11 o'clock at night instead," Baatz said.

Baatz said it's important to look at the issue now, before electric vehicles become more commonplace.

A selling point for electric vehicles is that they're better for the environment, but what it takes to get an EV on the road isn't so green.

"The carbon footprint, the mineral footprint, of any battery electric vehicle, it is one to two times as much as an internal combustion engine," said Michael Meyer, an assistant professor of earth systems science at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.

Let's start at the source.

"The difference is the high-voltage, or the traction battery, that one requires a lot of additional work. You have to mine your rare earth elements," Meyer said.

EV batteries require lithium.

"They pump a lot of water through salty material. They then bring it up to the surface," Meyer said.

The majority of the earth's lithium supply is in parts of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile.

"It is not only very water-intensive and oftentimes in areas that don't have good water quality, but if that water does breech the pool, then you also have contamination issues," Meyer said.

The United Nations said the mining consumes up to 65% of the region's water and is causing groundwater depletion and soil contamination. Local villages have been forced to move.

"Outside of the battery manufacturing process, an internal combustion engine car and a battery electric vehicle are pretty much exactly the same," Meyer said.

Once on the road, the electric vehicle itself doesn't emit greenhouse gases. But the electrical grid that charges it may.

"Most of our power generation comes from natural gas, then coal, nuclear and from then other sources of renewables," Meyer said.

Once lithium batteries reach the end of their lives, very few are recycled. That's compared to the 99% of lead car batteries recycled in the U.S.

"It's a process to disassemble that, get all of the parts out. It's very man-hour intensive," Meyer said.

Many of these batteries end up in landfills.

"You have leaks that could occur. If some sort of overheating event happens, they of course can start a fire," Meyer said.

But even after the intensive process to get EVs on the road, research shows they are, overall, better for the environment.

"The difference is in the rest of the life of the vehicle," Meyer said.

The International Council on Clean Transportation says EVs in the U.S. produce up to 68% fewer emissions over their lifetime than gas-powered vehicles.

"Throughout the whole life cycle of the vehicle, the electric vehicle will end up being much cleaner for the environment, much better for human health," Meyer said.

But when it comes to manufacturing, charging and recycling batteries, Meyer said there is definitely room for improvement.

As more electric vehicles hit the roads, the risk of more EV fires grows.

EV fires present different challenges and dangers to put out.

Emergency responders are working to catch up with the technology to save lives and property.

"Let's sit first, and let's write the script before we're actually shooting the movie," said Chief Scott Little, with Manheim Township Fire Rescue.

Manheim Township firefighters were put to the test when a car carrier caught fire on Feb. 6. Two electric vehicles on board became engulfed in flames.

"The challenges that presents, the first thing is the amount of water," Little said.

The lithium-ion batteries are located in the bottom center of EVs. The batteries are extremely volatile. When they're on fire, they require more time and water than gas-powered vehicles to put out.

"Our fire trucks don't carry the amount of water that's recommended by the manufacturer," Little said.

Companies are manufacturing equipment specifically designed to fight electric vehicle fires.

"It's a new tool, a new technology," Lebanon fire Commissioner Duane Trautman said.

The city of Lebanon Bureau of Fire became the first in the state to purchase Rosenbauer Battery Extinguishing System Technology, or BEST, with $30,000 in grant money.

"I just want to be ready," Trautman said.

Firefighters demonstrated how it works on a non-electric vehicle.

"It's unique and the only thing of its kind right now, where it punctures the bottom of an EV or into the battery to extinguish the fire and stop the thermal runaway," Trautman said.

This technology uses only hundreds of gallons of water, not thousands used with traditional fire equipment. But there are concerns about the potential risk when the lance punctures the battery.

"I would agree that there's probably some risk, but also, in our research, the Volkswagen factory in Germany, they have 15 of them. I'm listening," Trautman said.

Another issue is that the chemicals in the batteries can reignite days after being involved in fires or a crash.

We were at Wayne's Towing when workers covered a damaged EV with a fire blanket.

Tow truck operators also use another method of keeping vehicles such as the EVs in the Manheim Township fire safe and isolated. The cars were placed in metal containers called roll-off dumpsters, which will contain the spread of fire should the EVs reignite.

Emergency responders are adding up the safety cost and researching what's best for them.

"Trying to figure out what is the best solution for our municipality, for the county of Lancaster, so that we spend our money wisely," said Ben Herskowitz, with Lancaster County Hazmat.

But the clock is ticking.

"We got to be ready when that call comes in," Little said.