Amid a September 2022 heat wave, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) asked EV owners to avoid charging their vehicles. CAISO manages the Golden State’s power grid, and they feared the brutal summer conditions would overload the state’s electrical system. The request came on the heels of the Biden Administration’s announcement of a 50% EV adoption rate target by 2030. Americans are already iffy on electric vehicle adoption, but can the US’s current electrical infrastructure handle EV adoption targets?
Experts say the current US electrical infrastructure needs improvements to meet future EV adoption goals safely.
According to US News & World Report, most experts agree current electrical infrastructure can handle EV adoption in the near future. However, it will definitely need upgrades to meet adoption targets.
The International Council on Clean Transportation says the most densely populated cities in the country need “substantial” infrastructure upgrades. And Scientific American reports that improvements are necessary to the current electrical grid; however, it’s a gradual, handleable transition.
President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act allocated $760 million to the Department of Energy to ramp up interstate electrical grid improvements. And the bill set aside $9.7 billion for the Department of Agriculture to improve rural electrical infrastructure. However, the Wall Street Journal reports companies will spend between $1.5 and $1.8 trillion by 2030 on upgrades.
“We can’t just sit back and say, ‘Ok, the grid can handle it,’” said Energy Innovation’s Sara Baldwin. “It will take attention, and it will take some adjustments to how things have been done in the past.” Energy Innovation is a policy think tank where Baldwin serves as the director of electrification, working on clean energy policy. She added that though there are hurdles to overcome, she remains optimistic.
Additionally, according to Union of Concerned Scientists Senior Vehicles Analyst Samantha Houston, the country needs electrical infrastructure upgrades anyway. If the United States is to move away from greenhouse gases, power providers must invest in energy capacity and transmission.
Unfortunately, your electrical bill will likely get more expensive to support these upgrades.
The nation isn’t in danger of sweeping blackouts because of EV adoption. However, upgrades are necessary, and utility companies will pass the buck onto you, the consumer. According to WSJ, by 2030, power companies could charge up to 12% more for utilities to support electrical infrastructure upgrades.
Additionally, the most significant challenges lie not in producing enough energy but in distributing it locally. Local power distribution represents the most significant potential bottleneck to a system overhaul. Utility companies will need to invest as much as $5,800 per new EV for local grid improvements. The upgrades to local power delivery could cost as much as $10 billion nationwide by 2030.
However, several utility companies offer savings to EV owners who agree to charge their cars at off-peak hours. The power grid is under the most strain in the late afternoon hours when people return home from work. Deferring a charge until later in the day is an innovative and efficient way to reduce the pressure on electrical infrastructure.
A 2019 study showed 60% of electrical lines in the San Francisco Bay Area would require upgrades for unmanaged charging. However, if 30% of EV owners wait until off-peak times, the Bay Area would need far fewer upgrades.
