Part of RAP and ICCT’s Benefits of EVs Through Smart Charging Global Project

With economic forces and policy efforts encouraging transportation electrification, it is critical that electric vehicle (EV) demand on the power grid be carefully integrated to avoid unnecessarily higher costs for consumers, the power system and the environment all of which could slow down the transition to a cleaner transportation sector. Significant amounts of electric transportation load is flexible and controllable, and this flexibility is a resource available for utilities to manage over the course of the day in response to conditions on the grid.

The Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) in collaboration with the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has undertaken a global study to assess the economic and environmental benefits of managing EV charging in the four largest global EV markets: China, the United States, Europe and India. Unlocking System Savings With Flexible EV Charging: Lessons From Colorado is the first report published as part of this global project. Focusing on the U.S. state of Colorado, this report was undertaken with the support of Evolved Energy Research (EER) to model the potential for EV flexibility to be used to lower the costs of transportation electrification. Unlocking Savings identifies the system value that can be realized by optimizing EV charging, and gives recommendations for utilities and planners on how to unlock this value, with additional benefits for consumers and the environment.