I spoke with Professor Han Slootweg from the Eindhoven University of Technology . His chair is smart grids . My first question is: can the grid handle it? His answer is that the electricity grid was built in a different time, when energy use was different. We had electrical appliances, but not as many as we do now, let alone that electric cars need to be charged. This is without taking into account the trend of solar panels, where the consumer generates energy himself and can supply it back to the grid.
It is possible that you are in a neighborhood where the electricity grid is already a bit older, where too many electric cars affect the stability of the grid and can cause malfunctions. An upgrade of the grid is then necessary. It can easily take a year or a year and a half before it is completed. We also see a similar problem with the solar parks in Groningen, where the grid cannot handle the supply due to the cheap land.
Loading capacity
Another problem is the charging capacity. For large cities, a private parking space in front of the door is just a dream for many residents. In that case, you are dependent on the public charging stations that are there (and more and more are coming). But, from observation (we have such a station in front of our door): in most cases the station is occupied from the evening until the next morning. The time that a municipality needs to grant a permit and install can easily run from a few months to a year. If an average street has 4 new electric drivers who use public charging stations, then you really have a problem. Incidentally, the installation of stations has been removed from the grid operators and is now the responsibility of the municipality and contractors.
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Part of the costs that you pay for electricity and gas is the so-called fixed charge . This is used to pay for the supply of energy, including all costs and maintenance of the network (from high voltage to the front door). If there is less income (and if you generate your own energy), the amount for financing will decrease, while there will have to be substantial investments in the coming years. If this continues, these costs will still be charged to the customer in one way or another, one way or another.
But there are also other aspects that influence electric driving. Recently, an article appeared on the NOS about the capriciousness of sun and wind that threatens the stability of the electricity grid . Mind you, that is already happening at this moment. Without the transition from gas to electricity and electric driving. So we are also looking at other solutions where we can arrange local storage. On EenVandaag I saw a rather fear-inducing piece about the proliferation of neighbourhood batteries. This local storage of energy worries the fire brigade. It seems to me that there are better ways than such a panting 'it's dangerous' piece.