EV wave to hit some cities (and utilities) harder than others

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By Doug Peeples

SGN news editor

A new Pike Research report says the metropolitan areas with the most plug-in EVs (PEVs) on the road in the next several years will be New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco, with Chicago and San Diego not far behind. If nothing else, the report is a call out for electric vehicle charging infrastructure companies, product and production planning firms and electric utilities to be ready for them.

"Electric vehicle adoption will follow markedly different patterns in various parts of the country," said Pike senior analyst Dave Hurst. "Demographics, consumer attitudes, city and utility infrastructure, and manufacturer launch plans will all have an influence on the uptake of PEVs in different areas." The report notes that some smaller metro areas like Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina, and Sacramento, California, will see lots of PEVs, too.

How smart the advanced charging technologies actually are will be a critical issue for the utilities that are grappling with integrating the growing populations of PEVs into the electric grid while maintaining a safe, reliable power supply. Pike says the utilities with the largest numbers of EVs to contend with will be Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric (California), Consolidated Edison (New York), Exelon (Illinois) and FPL Group (Florida). The report details sales forecasts to 2017 and includes analyses of major trends.

In a way, Pike's research is supported by DOE's release a few days ago of its analysis of advances in PEV deployment. In a nutshell, DOE says President Obama's recently stated goal of one million electrics on the road by 2015 is achievable. The administration has proposed a three-part strategy to ensure that it happens: change the existing $7,500 tax credit for PEV purchases to a rebate delivered at the point of sale, new research and development investments in advanced batteries and storage technologies, and a competitive grant program to reward communities for their deployment initiatives.

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