EV impact on Houston? Not much... except for transformers

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A joint study by KEMA and Houston-based CenterPoint Energy found that EV impact on the Houston electricity transmission and distribution system over the next 10 years won't amount to much with an additional peak load of 5% at most. But if EVs are clustered in localized areas they could cause transformer overloads. The study acknowledges that overloads are very likely in specific parts of CenterPoint's territory, but that careful management of EV charging might mitigate the impact on transmission and distribution. The study, Electric Vehicles in Houston: Motivations, Trends, and Distribution System Impacts," also covered the importance of electric transportation, the state of its technology, customer support, policy, financial impacts and other issues.

Quick Take: Sometimes the content of a study isn't as critical as how well it ties all of the meaningful components together into a useful planning tool. This report seems to be a good example.

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