Yea, the best way to get up to speed is playing scales and licks and gradually building up speed. The only problem with that is that playing scales over and over again gets boring, so make sure you mix scales up with regular playing, and make sure you get warmed up before practicing. A great way to build speed and get your fingers and hands moving freely is Flight of the Bumble Bee:

e-------------------------------------------------|
b---5----------6-5---5-----------------5----------|
g-----8-7-6-5------8---8-7-6-5-6-7-8-------------|
d--------------------------------------------------|
a--------------------------------------------------|
E--------------------------------------------------|

Start this of slow, it seems a little tricky at first, but once you get the fingering down, you start playing it faster and faster as the weeks go by. Whats cool about this is that you keep your hand in the same position the whole time, and each finger is used on only one fret (so keep your finger on the 5, middle on the 6 and ect.)

So try that out, and move it up and down the neck on the same strings, I like to go back and fourth between the 5th and 10t fret.

Thats another thing, people always get a chuckle when you play known classical songs on the electric fully distorted.