The transition to clean energy is forcing utilities everywhere to embrace unprecedented innovation and technologies at a rate unlike ever before. One shift in particular – electric vehicles (EVs) – is transforming the energy industry as we know it and our roadways across the globe. While the accelerating adoption of EVs illustrates significant progress along the transition to clean energy, one important question remains: how can utilities prepare?

For some context, here are a few key statistics about recent and projected EV growth:

• By 2032, 25% of all heavy trucks and 2/3 of all cars produced in the U.S. must be electric vehicles.¹

• In total, more than 26 million electric vehicles were on the road globally in 2022, which represents a 60% increase relative to 2021.²

• A total of 14% of all new cars sold were electric in 2022, up from around 9% in 2021 and less than 5% in 2020.³

• Electric vehicle sales globally exceeded 10 million for the first time last year.⁴

• Electric vehicle sales globally are estimated to reach almost 14 million in 2023.⁵

Once a far-fetched idea, EVs are now a daily reality for millions and adoption rates are predicted to continue skyrocketing. However, an aging electric grid can cause brownouts and other issues if not adequately built for this exponential level of growth and increase in demand. Utilities need to be able to ensure grid reliability and resiliency during peak periods. One crucial step to achieving this is the installation of private, commercial and public charging stations. The demand for convenient and accessible charging infrastructure is already on the rise as more people migrate to EVs. In order to strategically deploy charging stations, utilities will need to work with stakeholders like governments and private firms. This will not only enable EV owners to charge their vehicles easily but also ease the strain on the grid by reducing the load on constrained electric infrastructure.

Better supply and demand management using smart grid technologies is another important component of successful preparation for the rise in EV demand. To monitor and improve the distribution of power, modern smart grids increasingly employ distributed intelligence and action at the grid edge. Utilities can deploy automation, real-time data and advanced analytics to proactively control the changes in electricity demand brought on by EV charging.

To identify and take proactive action against possible vulnerabilities, utilities have the option to leverage existing metering and network infrastructure and/or invest in modern grid monitoring and management technologies. This can include installation of distributed energy management systems such as Itron’s DER and EV Fleet Management Solutions, proactive grid infrastructure maintenance, automated fault isolation and detection, and grid reconfiguration to redirect power in the event of equipment failure or heavy demand.

To put it simply: utilities should prepare for impact. The accelerating adoption of EVs will continue to pose significant strain on the electric grid, but utilities can utilize demand visibility of the wave of EVs landing on their system and other customer energy resources via existing and new DI capabilities. Read Don Reeves’ full article in Smart Industry here.