PHEV impacts on microgrid systems

Over the past decade, electric vehicles have emerged as a potential solution to the growing fossil fuel dependence, as well as a means of drastically reducing the manmade pollutants in the environment. Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), which have both an internal combustion engine and an on board battery, are designed to charge the vehicle's battery directly from the electric grid. Although PHEVs seem to provide a solution, there are pros and cons of switching to PHEVs. Their inherent ability to decrease the dependence on oil is partially offset by the overall increase in power consumption. With the current power grid, the introduction of PHEVs could have critical affects depending on the percentage and demographical uniformity of their infiltration.