It makes sense to be able to manage the grid, does it not? If everyone charges at the same time there could be problems, not now but in the future when ev numbers really rise, so taking steps to avoid this makes absolute sense. With regard to allowing electricity to be taken from your EV you will be paid for this ,£200-300 per year and it won’t be done unless you sign up for it and just to put minds at ease we are talking about a small amount of electricity being taken, maybe 3 or 4 kWh. Remember 3 kWh from a million EVs is a lot of energy provision to the grid and will save billions£ each year. So don’t worry this is a good thing, unless you believe that the world is against you and everything is an attack on your liberty in that case get your tin hat on as “we’re doomed”.
At the backend of 2020 the NG said “There is definitely enough energy and the grid can cope easily.”
This is what the NG stated in the Electrical trade magazine DEC 2020 and can also be found on NG’s website.
As the journey towards mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) speeds up, it’s vital that there’s enough clean energy to power this transport revolution. Transport Decarbonisation Director Graeme Cooper has long championed the adoption of EVs and is confident the grid can support the extra demand for electricity this transition will create.
“There is definitely enough energy and the grid can cope easily,” he explains. “The growth in renewable energy means this is not static and smart metering will make this more efficient. For example, the growth in wind power from the extra offshore wind farms being developed will adequately meet the future demand for electrifying transport – an extra 100 terrawatt hours from our current 300 terrawatt hours consumed.”
Then a little later they said,
“The National Grid is trialling a project that will allow it to take energy from an electric car’s battery to help relieve some pressure from the grid at the busiest times.
With more and more drivers making the switch to electric cars and plugging their cars in at home to charge, there have been concerns raised as to whether there will be enough electricity to go around. Tthose taking part in the project – which is known as vehicle-to-grid, will be paid 60p per hour for the electricity they send from their cars to the grid, or 15p per kilowatt hour.”
On top of that that the legislation could allow the electricity used for charging EVs to be charged and taxed at a higher rate than domestic electricity. Just like the roll out of smart meters and now talk they could be charging peak/off peak rates. We all know what “could” translates to.
I’m in no way against EV’s sceptical of the government maybe. After all I’m still waiting for the 5% VAT cut they promised in 2016.