Aggregated Impact of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles on Electricity Demand Profile

Abstract

Greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution in urban areas, and dependence on fossil fuels are among the challenges threatening the sustainable development of the transportation sector. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) technology is one of the most promising solutions to tackle the situation. While PHEVs partially rely on electricity from the power grid, they raise concerns about their negative impacts on power generation, transmission, and distribution installations. On the other hand, they have the potential to be used as a distributed energy storage system for the grid. Therefore, they can pave the way for a more sustainable power grid in which renewable resources are widely employed. Positive and negative impacts of PHEVs on the power grid cannot be thoroughly examined unless extensive data on the utilization of each individual PHEV are available. For instance, in order to estimate the aggregated impact of PHEVs on the electricity demand profile, one needs to know 1) when each PHEV would begin its charging process, 2) how much electrical energy it would require, and 3) how much power would be needed. This paper extracts and analyzes the data that are available through national household travel surveys (NHTS). Three charging scenarios are considered in order to obtain various PHEV charging load profiles (PCLPs). Further, the characteristics of each developed PCLP are studied. Finally, the effects of three suggested policies on the derived PCLPs are examined.