Electric vehicles (EVs) are growing in popularity and certainly in mind space. EVs represent one of the most promising pathways to increase energy security, reduce carbon emissions, and improve air quality. The government launched the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 in 2013, setting ambitious targets for sales of 6-7 million electric and hybrid vehicles per year starting 2020.
After a drop in EV sales from 2012-2014, sales picked up in 2015-2016, increasing by 37.5% to 22,000 units in 2015-16 from 16,000 in 2014-15 as per data from Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV). Of these, 20,000 were 2-wheelers and 2,000 were 4-wheelers. The jump was powered by subsidies under a government initiative called FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India). This trend continued in 2016-2017 with sales at 34,283 vehicles, an increase of 55%.
However, EV sales have been irregular in spite of the Government of India offering subsidies on electric and hybrid vehicles of up to INR 29,000 for 2-wheelers and INR 1.38 lakh for 4-wheelers. Apart from financing issues, one of the critical factors inhibiting the adoption of EVs is a lack of charging infrastructure, highlighted by SMEV Director Sohinder Gill (Autocar Professional, 1 April 2016).
Global EV sales reached 7,35,000 units in 2016, with battery electric vehicles (BEV) accounting for 60% of sales. The number of EVs in use globally is 2 million (IEA).
The International Council on Clean Transportation’s (ICCT) analysis of top EV cities worldwide shows that incentives, charging infrastructure and utility support are strong drivers for increasing EV penetration.
Could EV’s be a business opportunity for Indian DISCOMs? Or, would they add to existing woes in managing peak demand?
The worst-case scenario is consumers plugging in EVs during peak hours, leading to a further spike in demand. The challenge for DISCOMs is to find a way to distribute these charging events during off-peak hours, or even better, to shift EV charging to periods of high renewable energy production.
On the other hand, the increasing use of electric vehicles could be a strategic opportunity for DISCOMs. They have the potential to be valuable grid balancing resources, storage devices and mobile distributed energy resources, as well as being an additional revenue stream.
In near term managing the additional demand from EVs is likely to be the first priority, with utilties looking at various solutions and/or pilots.
The utility Pepco in the state of Maryland, USA, found that EV users typically charge their vehicles at home during peak hours, in spite of the availability of public charging stations. This could add significant load to the grid during peak hours as the numbers of EVs increase. Pepco ran a pilot using an EV-specific tariff and a whole-residence tariff, with the aim of shifting the EV charging load to off-peak hours. The EV-specfic rate during peak hours was 23 cents/kWh whereas the off-peak rate was 5 cents/kWh. Even with the need for an additional meter for the EV, Pepco found that the difference in tariff resulted in a shift in demand. Though the Pepco pilot used the traditional Time-of-Day (TOD) tariff to manage demand, a similar EV-specific metering solution could be used to charge EVs during peak renewable energy generation. (Source: Utility Dive, Jan 2017)
Research and pilots in Vehicle to Grid (V2G) technology are gaining interest, due to the dual use of EVs as storage devices during a surplus in generation and as a source of power to meet peak demand.
Early players in India
NTPC has set up EV charging stations at its Delhi and NOIDA offices and plan to extend these to other locations in Delhi/NCR, as well as other cities across India.
TPDDL is in talks with various stake holders like the municipal corporation, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), shopping malls, office complexes, etc. to set up electric charging stations on their premises. TPDDL is also in talks with Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and the governments that they should come up with a special price mechanism for charging of electric vehicles so that it becomes reasonable to the consumers.
Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) too is exploring setting up EV charging infrastructure in a way that will exploit solar and other renewable energy generation and aid in grid balancing.
Utilities taking a forward-looking, proactive approach to supporting the growth in EV sales will be in a position to benefit from EV’s, rather than seeing them as just another load on the grid.
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