Published on 05/30/2017 | Market Sizing
Significant public and private investment has been owing into the electric vehicle (EV) market, driven by energy security, environmental, and economic trends. As a result, battery-powered and plug-in hybrid EVs, along with EV supply equipment (EVSE), have begun to debut. These EVs are expected to have a major impact on utilities – even a low level of EV adoption could strain the electric infrastructure, particularly in residential areas where as much as 80 to 90 percent of EV charging is expected to occur.
Utilities that don’t prepare to integrate EVSEs into their distribution networks are likely to incur unplanned costs and grid reliability problems, as well as be perceived as a bottleneck to EV adoption. Utilities that prepare for EVSEs with smart grid “smart charging” technologies and customer incentives will be able to proactively in uence when and how EV charging occurs, enabling them to reduce peak demand, mitigate the impact of EV charging on the grid, and actively support customers with EVs.
Consequently, utilities should proactively assess how they will manage the adoption and charging of EVs within their service territories. When evaluating different EV integration options, utilities will need to consider variables such as who owns the EVSE, who owns the meter used for EVSE billing, and how electricity rates can in uence consumers’ EV charging behavior.
No single approach to EV integration has yet emerged as the best choice for utilities to support EVs, and the optimal solution likely will differ across utilities. To help utilities determine the best approach for their particular situation, Silver Spring Networks has developed a model that analyzes the costs and bene ts of different EV integration options. This paper presents three sample scenarios that fall along the spectrum of utility involvement: utility ownership of smart grid EVSE; utility subsidy of customer-owned smart grid EVSE, either with or without a separate smart meter for billing; and customer ownership of the EVSE where the EV is treated like an appliance and metered through the existing residential meter.
You can read and download the full report on Silver Spring Networks here
