IS THERE ENOUGH ELECTRICITY?

Worried it’s the car or the kettle? Think again

Total electricity demand in the UK peaked just over 10 years ago when there were no EVs. It was around 375,000GWh a year. But 10 million cars would use 25,000GWh a year. Or one-fifteenth of the grid capacity we had back then. In pre-pandemic 2019, Britain’s consumption had fallen to 308,000GWh. So the grid can comfortably supply all the cars.

By 2050, we’re going to be using far less fossil fuel for everything – industry and heating especially – and so grid capacity is planned to double. There are also plans to have four times as much renewable capacity as now. (In 2020 we got more of our electrical grid energy from wind, solar, bio and hydro combined than we did from fossil fuel.) The big-energy roadmap is looking good.

But energy is power across time. If everyone were to plug in their cars at once, it would break the grid’s power capacity. So cars must charge mostly at times of the day when there’s otherwise low demand. Flexible electricity prices can make it happen. When the juice is in excess or short supply, suppliers can drop or raise the rate. An app on your phone or house meter would know this and tell your car to start (or stop) charging if the price went below (or above) a threshold.

There’s another reason for flexible pricing. The most significant types of renewable electricity are in fluctuating supply. Solar stops at night, wind drops off in calm weather. So we need to use the electricity when it’s available.

OK, so there’s enough. But is it in the right place? Most people will home charge. Most streets have enough power to supply their wallboxes, again because they’ll be encouraged via localised flex-pricing to charge the cars only when they aren’t cooking a roast. Rapid charging hubs will be different, as they’ll demand megawatts of power. Luckily high-tension pylons tend to run near major roads, so that hookup won’t be a big issue either.