Implementing EV Virtual Power Lines via Charging Station Control

The impending green transition of the power system, brought about by the spread of Renewable Energy Sources, Energy Storage, and Electric Vehicles (EVs), calls for novel grid management solutions. Techniques using concepts such as Virtual Power Plants and Virtual Power Lines have already successfully been deployed to help manage the grid and shift power transmission in time. In this work, we propose and discuss a similar technique which can potentially match and surpass these results, which we refer to as EV Virtual Power Lines. By controlling the charging station prices and charging rates in a network in which EVs are circulating, we effectively shift the power consumption both in time and in space. This allows us to reinforce and balance the power grid, reducing grid congestion without disrupting EV operation. We model and analyse the dynamics of EVs circulating between two urban nodes in mixed traffic, and design control schemes that achieve charging station power reference tracking. Using a simple simulation example, performance achievable by applying such control schemes is demonstrated.