A flat battery on a snow plough?

Sir, – If an electric car and a fossil fuel car get stuck in snow, the heating capability of the fossil fuel is much greater than the electric.

Furthermore, once both sets of fuel are used up, it is a simple matter to refuel with fossil fuel and be mobile again.

The electric car must be towed away or have a fossil fuel generator plugged into it.

Diesel has around 11kwh of energy per litre, therefore a 50 litre tank holds 550kwh of potential energy, which even at 25% efficiency has more than double the power reserve of Mr Pay’s yet-to-be installed 60kwh Leaf (Letters, March 12), the equivalent of a gallon fuel tank (or four gallons at 25% efficiency).

Electric vehicles have their uses and place, but are nowhere near a universal solution, and will still require an enormous grid upgrade to facilitate recharging.

And how do you cope with a flat battery on an electric snow plough? Nick Cole. Balmacron Farmhouse, Meigle.