High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Speed of electricity refers to the relatively slow movement of free electrons or ions through a conductor in the presence of an electric field, also known as drift velocity. It is often confused with the propagation speed of an electromagnetic wave. It is the electromagnetic wave that usually conveys information, not the movement of electrons. Free electrons in a conductor vibrate randomly, but without the presence of an electric field there is no net velocity. When a DC voltage is applied the electrons will increase in speed proportional to the strength of the electric field.