Savvy fleet operators and consumers who join a Central Network Operator, or aggregator, are apt to get the best prices when they plug in their hybrid or electric vehicles, according to a joint study released on July 12 by PJM Interconnection and Better Place.
PJM Interconnection, based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, is a regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia. Better Place, headquartered in Palo Alto (News - Alert), California, builds and operates the infrastructure and systems to enable confident adoption and use of electric vehicles.
The two companies performed the study in order to address the widespread concern that the added electricity load on the power grid created by EVs and HEVs “will reduce stability, reliability, and cost-efficiency of the overall system.”
Their research considered a distribution of 1 million EVs in the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan Area and modeled the impact of charging the EV batteries in three scenarios:
The results show that the first option—simply “plugging in” one million electric cars —could add $750 million in annual wholesale energy costs .
Similarly, consumers who choose to leverage time-of-use pricing can realize some price relief – less than 10 percent annually – however; the wholesale energy business would still feel the impact of ad hoc charging.
Conversely, “smart charging“ one million electric cars via a central network operator can cut in half the increase in wholesale energy costs compared to simply plugging in or time-of-use pricing, while reducing driving costs by one-fifth.
The study demonstrates that CNOs are able to achieve this cost-advantage by virtue of their ability to forecast EV demand and to quickly adjust and reschedule EV demand according to real-time locational marginal prices (prices based on the real-time cost of energy, transmission losses, and congestion between nodes on the network).
“Because of the ad hoc nature and unpredictability of when each electric car would be plugged in, the extra $750 million in annual costs would be borne unequally by market participants and consumers,” said Hugh McDermott, vice president of Utility and Smart Grid Alliances for Better Place. “With smart charging, a central network operator is able to leverage dynamic wholesale energy prices to optimize the entire fleet’s charging at the lowest possible cost and impact to the grid and the consumer. Our customers and utility partners around the world stand to benefit from smart charging.”
“Smart charging is possible when there’s real-time coordination through a centrally dispatched grid, which will facilitate prioritization and varying charging rates,” said Chantal Hendrzak, PJM’s general manager of Applied Solutions. “Flexible load benefits of EV charging are captured more easily by regional transmission organizations, independent systems operators, and utility operations through integration more directly into existing operations and practices.”
Sam Jaffe, research manager at Framingham, Massachusetts-based IDC Energy Insights, commented, “Most electric vehicle drivers will want to be able to plug in according to their own needs, but unmanaged charging on a large scale will be costly for everyone – the driver, the utility and the grid operator. A centrally managed model can result in significant cost savings and improved grid stability, without impairing the fueling needs of the EV owners.”
“While many of the advantages of electrification of transport are well known, such as the diversity of domestically available fuels, price stability and spare capacity, the Better Place – PJM study reveals that managed charging can optimize the relationship between EVs and the grid, minimizing capital expenses and maximizing grid reliability,” said Robbie Diamond, president and CEO of the Electrification Coalition (EC), a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan, not-for-profit group of business leaders committed to promoting policies and actions that facilitate the deployment of electric vehicles on a mass scale.. “The United States should work to maximize these benefits to make EVs a true asset to our economic and national security.”
Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.
Cheryl Kaften is an accomplished communicator who has written for consumer and corporate audiences. She has worked extensively for MasterCard (News - Alert) Worldwide, Philip Morris USA (Altria), and KPMG, and has consulted for Estee Lauder and the Philadelphia Inquirer Newspapers. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Jennifer Russell
