Grid manager wants to turn off electric car charges between 16:00 and 21:00

Stedin wants to turn off public charging stations for electric cars between 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. According to the grid operator, the power grid is so overtaxed during those peak hours that it is “bursting at the seams” and risking power outages, NOS reports.

Grid operators are already experimenting with “smart” or “grid aware” charging in several places, where less power is available to public charging stations during peak hours, so cars charge more slowly then. Stedin is participating in such a trial in Rotterdam. But, according to the company, it is not enough.

Stedin expects that 20 percent of large cities’ power grid capacity will go to public charging stations in the coming years. For every charging station that is turned off during the evening peak, a new home can be connected to the electricity grid, Stedin calculated.

In most residential areas in the Netherlands, the electricity grid dates from when cars ran on petrol or diesel, homes were heated with gas, and most stoves and hot water supplies also ran on gas. Many people are now switching to heat pumps, induction stoves, and electric driving. The number of electric cars is expected to increase from the current around 450,000 (5 percent of all cars) to 2 million (20 percent) in 2030.

Between 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. is when most people come home, turn on their heating, cook dinner, and plug in their cars. That puts massive pressure on the electricity grid, risking power outages for about 1.5 million households. To strengthen the grid sufficiently, nearly 105,000 kilometers of cable must be laid, and 54,000 additional transformer houses must be built. According to Stedin, that equates to overhauling a third of Dutch streets.

Stedin urges municipalities, charging station operators, consumers, and companies to only use electricity at peak times if necessary. “If we adjust our behavior, grid operators can free up more capacity. They can then use it to connect companies on the waiting list, but also newly built homes and schools,” Stedin chairman Koen Bogers said.

The Electric Drivers Association (VER) understands the need for “grid-conscious” charging, but stresses that people must have “charging security.”