Plug-in hybrids have been touted as a short-term squeeze on foreign oil. The concept is that you plug into your home outlet and run on the energy grid for a 100 miles or so until the batteries deplete before a gasoline engine needs to fire.
Electrical generation likes consistency and using non-fossil fuel sources during low demand that are already in place like nuclear, hydro and wind could cut oil use.
However, consider if everyone had a plug-in hybrid and started plugging them in during peak energy demand on a hot summer day. More power plants and peak demand plants that run on natural gas and oil would have to be built and fired up to meet the demand. Humans by nature seek convenience.
For plug-in hybrids to become part of the short-term energy solution incentives for time-of-day metering and consumer education need to be part of the sales pitch, otherwise, we will just have another ethanol quandary to sort out.
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