Impact and Mitigation of Uncontrolled Electric Vehicle Charging on Local Power Grids with High Penetration of Distributed Energy Resources

A transition is underway in low-voltage feeder networks due to the integration of distributed energy resources (DERs), battery energy storage systems, and electric vehicles (EVs), which may yield both positive and negative feedback effects on the system. On the other hand, when coordinated PV (photovoltaic) generation with battery storage and smart charging is implemented, the system achieves the highest reliability and stability. This paper examines the impact of improperly scheduled EV charging and potential mitigation strategies by integrating a smart charging method with rooftop solar panels and battery storage systems. In this study, we successfully modelled 100 rural household networks and tested different mitigation scenarios, including a smart charging case and a full mitigation case with battery storage and renewable sources. The result shows network losses of 8.4 kW, transformer loading of 96.429%, and the highest evening peak demand in the uncontrolled charging case. On the contrary, the full mitigation of planned charging and renewable energies with batteries reduces losses by halving uncontrolled network losses and shifting the peak demand from the evening to midnight, thereby decreasing voltage decline and resolving power quality issues such as distortions and voltage deviations.