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The municipality of Utrecht has found that implementing 'smart charging' for electric vehicles can lead to a reduction of 15 percent in peak load on the electricity grid for EVs. Over a period of three years, a trial was conducted using flexible network rates to influence the charging behavior of users.
The findings are from the Fleet research project conducted by the municipality in partnership with grid operator Stedin, ElaadNL, We Drive Solar, Enervalis, and the Copernicus Institute at Utrecht University. The trial involved 380 public charging stations, where grid rates were adjusted during peak times to discourage full-power charging and lowered during off-peak times. There were also instances where charging was delayed.
Even though the trial has concluded, the stakeholders involved are continuing to manage the charging stations using smart charging techniques. This approach is also being adopted in other regions such as Flevoland and Utrecht will receive 35000 additional charging stations until 2028">North Holland Flevoland. This system allows for the local capacity for EV charging to be varied based on the current load on the grid. Various companies are also testing this principle.
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