Mapping electric vehicle load at the distribution substation level in the UK: challenges and opportunities

This paper reviews electric vehicle (EV) profiling at the distribution substation level in the UK, focusing on eight EV charging trials and projects conducted between 2010 and 2022. It examines current profiling methods and highlights key challenges and opportunities in mapping EV charging demand across distribution substations, including the risk of data drift, the need to consider the interaction between multiple sociodemographic and locational factors, poor visibility of EV adoption, and the inherent uncertainty in the system. The pace of change in EV adoption, technology and policy means that trial datasets quickly become outdated. The multitude of factors influencing EV charging demand requires the collection of rich datasets to quantify explicit relationships between them. While visibility of EV adoption on distribution networks remains prone to inaccuracies, ongoing research is advancing methods, presenting new opportunities to address these gaps through leveraging new insights and address the numerous sources of uncertainty inherent in such a complex and dynamic system. The findings emphasise the need for improved data collection and the development of predictive profiling techniques to support seamless EV integration and inform future network planning.