Powering the grid: The impact of electric vehicles on India’s energy infrastructure

India is undergoing a transformative shift towards electric mobility, spurred by the government’s aggressive push for cleaner transportation under initiatives such as the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 and the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme. With ambitious targets to deploy millions of EVs in the coming years, this transition is expected to significantly reduce fossil fuel dependence and lower carbon emissions.

However, this large-scale shift presents a major challenge: the impact of EV adoption on India’s already stressed power grid. As more vehicles rely on electricity rather than petrol or diesel, the surge in electricity demand, charging infrastructure gaps and grid stability concerns have become pressing issues. Without proper planning and investment in smart grid technologies, unregulated EV penetration could strain the country’s power distribution network, leading to voltage fluctuations and supply-demand mismatches.

How EVs interact with the electricity grid

Electric vehicles can be classified into two major types:

1. Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) – Electric vehicles that rely entirely on the grid for power.
2. Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) – Vehicles that use a combination of grid electricity and conventional fuel.

Their impact on the grid depends on several factors, including:

• Charging patterns: EVs require substantial electricity input, particularly during peak hours, which can put stress on the distribution network.
• Battery size and energy storage: The larger the battery capacity, the higher the energy requirement per charge.
• Charging speed: Fast-charging stations consume higher power over shorter durations, contributing to load spikes.

A report compiled by National Smart Grid Mission on EVs and their impact on the grid highlights the growing need to align charging infrastructure with electricity supply capacity to prevent grid destabilisation. Without strategic planning, an unregulated increase in EVs could lead to periodic overloading in urban centres where electricity demand is already high.

Read the full article at Indoen