Acceptability of Externally Controlled Recharging for the Protection of Local Power Networks with High Penetrations of Electric Vehicles

The anticipated uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) has the potential to overload low-voltage power networks where several EVs might be simultaneously recharging on the same electrical substation feeder. The Esprit system is designed to avoid potential power outages and damage to network infrastructure by means of temporary curtailment of EV recharging to reduce the aggregate load on a single feeder. It is important that this intervention does not adversely affect service quality for EV users and other electricity consumers. In a field trial of localized clusters of EVs, the My Electric Avenue project assessed the acceptability of temporary curtailment of charging to EV drivers as well as testing the technical viability of Esprit. Analysis of data gathered through questionnaires, interviews and focus groups with participants in the trial indicates that temporary curtailment of charging by the Esprit technology did not cause significant inconvenience to EV users.