Skip to main content

Consultation to examine how UK electricity network can prepare for increase in EVs

The UK’s Smart EV project is launching its Consultation on Managed EV Charging at the Low Carbon Networks Innovation Conference in Manchester. The Consultation invites stakeholder views to ultimately secure a standardised industry-wide agreement for the connection, charging and control of electric vehicles. The project’s ultimate aim is to achieve agreement across a number of industries on the best way to help facilitate the roll out of controlled EV charging. In doing so, it will enable significantly
October 13, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The UK’s Smart EV project is launching its Consultation on Managed EV Charging at the Low Carbon Networks Innovation Conference in Manchester. The Consultation invites stakeholder views to ultimately secure a standardised industry-wide agreement for the connection, charging and control of electric vehicles.  

The project’s ultimate aim is to achieve agreement across a number of industries on the best way to help facilitate the roll out of controlled EV charging.  In doing so, it will enable significantly larger numbers of EVs to charge on today’s local electricity distribution networks, with sizeable reduction in investment costs, customer bills and disruption.  

The project is being run by electricity network distribution operator Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) and power engineering company EA Technology, with funding through Ofgem’s Network Innovation Allowance.

Based on the current and forecast rate of EV adoption, sections of the electricity network will need upgrading to match the future demand of electric vehicle ownership. To help offset the need to spend billions in reinforcing the network, the Smart EV project is aiming to find a cross-industry technical solution to ensure the current electricity infrastructure can cope with the increase in electric vehicle charging on the network, particularly at peak times.

Stewart Reid, head of Asset Management & Innovation at SSEN, says, “The Smart EV project will help provide a safe and secure electricity network that can support the wide-scale adoption of electric vehicles, while reducing investment costs, customer bills and disruptions. Our research predicts that using smart technology, rather than digging up the roads to install new cables, will result in an economic saving of around £2.2 billion (US$2.7 billion) by 2050.”

Dave A. Roberts, director - Smart Interventions at EA Technology, said: “We need to find a standardised method to control the charging of EVs. The Smart EV project will seek to provide a national engineering recommendation, or equivalent, for the connection, charging and control of electric vehicles.

“We need the input of as many relevant stakeholders as possible – if you are a charging point manufacturer, installer, EV manufacturer, policymaker or anyone involved in the associated supply chain, please take part in the consultation.”

Related Content

  • Latest ITS technology upgrades India's toll systems
    November 13, 2012
    An ambitious programme of new and upgraded interoperable toll systems has been launched in India, featuring far-reaching technology developments. David Crawford reports. In April this year, Indian Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways CP Joshi inaugurated a new era of electronic toll collection (ETC) in India when he unveiled the country’s first RFID-based tolling installation. This was at a recently-completed plaza at Chandimandir, near the city of Panchkula in the northern state of Haryana. The sys
  • Georgia Yexley: Here's how micromobility can deliver public good
    June 27, 2023
    Georgia Yexley, founder of Loud Mobility, looks at the lessons on diversity, equity and inclusion which can be learned from the US and wider – and explores why it is a vital component for industry growth in the UK
  • Need for standardisation of toll classes
    March 2, 2012
    In a previous article Bob Lees of Idris Technology Ltd looked at the appropriateness of toll classes in relation to all-electronic toll fee collection. Here, he looks at how addressing classification standardisation could avoid downstream aggravation and cost
  • Passive RFID grows by 1.12 billion tags in 2014 to 6.9 billion
    October 31, 2014
    More than five years later than the industry had expected, market research and events firm IDTechEx find that the passive RFID tag market is now seeing tremendous volume growth. Market research and events firm IDTechEx find that the passive RFID tag market is now seeing tremendous volume growth - more than five years later than the industry had expected. Most of the growth is based on retailer adoption of UHF RFID for shelf-level stock replenishment, with the latest example being fashion retailer Zara r