Do smart charging and vehicle-to-grid strengthen or strain power grids with rising EV adoption? Insights from a Swedish residential network

Abstract

The rapid growth of electric vehicles (EVs) is placing new demands on residential distribution networks. Smart charging and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technologies offer potential solutions for mitigating the large peak load and enhancing the grid hosting capacity (HC), yet their effectiveness across varying EV penetration levels remains underexplored. Therefore, this study evaluates how EV penetration levels affect the effectiveness of these two technologies. Furthermore, to help improve the grid performances, this study also pioneeringly proposes two hypothetical pricing settings—diverse electricity buying prices and reduced electricity selling prices—and evaluates their performances by comparing with existing price settings. Using real-world network and EV charging data from Sweden, we assess peak load and HC under different scenarios of power flow direction, charging controls, and electricity prices strategies across eight EV penetration levels. Results reveal that coordinated charging, especially with V2G, more effectively reduces peak loads compared to individual controls. However, V2G, if not regulated well, can increase peak loads at high EV penetration levels. Diversified electricity buying prices help lower aggregated peak loads but are less effective in enhancing local HC due to peak load shifting rather than peak load reduction. Additionally, high electricity selling prices benefit at low EV penetration but become less effective as penetration grows. The findings suggest that electricity pricing strategies and charging controls should adapt dynamically to the level of EV penetration. These insights provide critical guidance to policymakers, distribution system operators, and aggregators in designing adaptive pricing and control strategies to integrate EVs without overburdening the grid.