Evaluation of load scenarios with the massive deployment of electric vehicles in distribution substations

Abstract

The massive deployment of electric vehicles for private use will be a truly disruptive challenge for the electric distribution networks in Argentina in the medium term. The objective of this work is to analyze, through different scenarios, the impact of simultaneous and nighttime home charging of electric cars on the electricity distribution network. In this work, an optimization model is developed that allows evaluating the feasibility of charging electric cars for a standard transformer substation considering the use of the vehicles, the needs of the users and the technical restrictions of the network. The results show that with the traditional operation scheme of the distribution networks it will be practically impossible to let users decide the charging levels of their electric vehicles because the simultaneity of high power charging would frequently trigger protection systems due to transformer overload. Therefore, it will be necessary to incorporate an intelligent load management model for all electric vehicle users that allows them to satisfy their energy needs without harming the electrical infrastructure that interconnects them. However, to implement such a system, a significant deployment of telecommunications technology, data analysis, optimization algorithms, computer development, among other things, will be necessary.