Minister warns of EV impact on grid

Demand side management is key, insist networks

Transport minister John Hayes has warned electric vehicles must use smart technology, so the national grid is not placed under further pressure.

Speaking yesterday at an event in Westminster, organised by the All-Party Parliament Design and Innovation Group, the former energy minister said he hopes the advent of electric vehicles and the issue of how they are charged will lead to a “new focus on how we manage demand”.

Hayes also talked about how the government “wants to see more charge points available” and how the new Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill will help with the rollout of this new technology.

“We also know that electric vehicles place the national grid under pressure,” said the minister. “It’s particularly important that we ensure that electric vehicle charging is smart and takes advantage of underutilised capacity. So the [Vehicle Technology and Aviation] Bill also contains powers to ensure the charging structure has the capability to work in this way.”

Also speaking at the same event, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks’ head of asset management and innovation, Stewart Reid, said they believe up to 30 per cent of local networks could need upgrading if there is between 40 per cent and 70 per cent uptake of electric vehicles in a street.

But Reid stressed how concepts like demand side management could help deal with the increasing demand electric vehicles put on the grid.

“The thing about demand side management is the speed in which it can be set up,” he said. “Cables, transformers and phase balancing all involve digging up the street, disruption, consent and ordering materials. We’re reasonably confident that won’t be palatable for someone who has just bought an electric vehicle, or the customers affected by the impact of that electric vehicle.”

“You can install a small control device in homes very quickly and a monitor at the substation,” he added. “The two units will speak to each other and you have resolved the problem. We know you can go from 30 per cent to 100 per cent of electric vehicle penetration in those streets. Even if it’s not up to 100 per cent, you’ve got yourself some breathing space to either make a more permanent demand side management solution or a commercial solution.”

Reid said “there is a really healthy exchange of ideas” coming through the Energy Networks Association about how to deal with the rapid growth of electric vehicles and charge points.

“Our strategy is to be engaged with it, keep an eye on the network, and keep an eye on the risk spots, so we can see it coming and do something about it. It means we can go to the regulator with an informed case, if there is a case further down the line for investment ahead of need. We will have the data to put that case forward.”

But Gregor Offer, a senior lecturer in electrochemical engineering at Imperial College London, told delegates: “We need to be sure we don’t solve the air quality problem by moving emissions to an out-of-town power station. We need to focus on decarbonising the grid just as much as we need to electrify vehicles.”