Controlling electric vehicle charging points for congestion management of UK LV networks

High penetration of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in residential UK Low Voltage (LV) networks may result in significant asset congestion (transformers and cables), particularly during peak hours. Therefore, this work proposes an implementable, centralized control algorithm that manages EV charging points to mitigate congestion in LV networks. To assess the need of control actions to avoid congestion issues, this work initially quantifies the potential impacts of different EV penetration levels on a real UK LV network. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm, analyses for uncontrolled and controlled charging of EVs are carried out. Monte Carlo simulations (considering 1-min resolution data) are undertaken to cater for domestic and EV load profile uncertainties. Results for this particular LV network indicate that asset congestion might occur for EV penetration levels larger than 40%. More importantly, the results show the effectiveness of the proposed centralized control algorithm in avoiding the congestion effects on the LV network, even for a 100% penetration of EVs.