Electric cars are putting the UK’s power grids under intense pressure, meaning owners of such vehicles should think carefully about the right time of day to recharge them. That’s according to the transport minister, John Hayes MP, who wants to see electric cars recharged outside of peak hours for electricity demand.
Speaking at a forum hosted by Policy Connect on the future of electric vehicles in Britain, Hayes said he hoped that increased uptake of electric cars will lead to wider debate on how best to deal with the country’s energy demand.
He commented: “We know the demand for electric vehicles places the national grid under pressure. It’s critically important – we are working on this. It’s particularly important that we charge smart, so we flex demand and take advantage of spare capacity”.
Charging points may be redesigned
While Hayes reaffirmed the Government’s plan to vastly increase the number of public charging points for electric vehicles in Britain, he says the aesthetics of the charging points should be considered too. Hayes is considering launching a design competition for the next generation of charging points.
One of the biggest energy companies in Britain, SSE, said its electric car programmes found most owners charged their batteries immediately after returning home from work. That is round about the same time energy demand is already at its highest point in the day. That has led SSE to trial time-shifting the charging to miss the peak period.
