The electric vehicle (EV) market is slowly gaining pace in Thailand. The development of smart cities and the need to improve air quality in cities will drive the growth of EVs in the country. The promotion of EVs is a significant part of Thailand’s Alternative Energy Development Plan 2012-2021, which aims to increase the share of renewable energy in total energy consumption. The Thai Alternative Energy Development Committee drafted the Electric Vehicle Promotion Plan for Thailand, which was approved by the government in March 2015.

The Energy Efficiency Plan (2015-36) aims to increase the number of EVs by 1.2 million and increase the number of charging stations to 690 by the year 2036. The government also aims to promote Thailand as a production hub for EVs. Currently, there are about 1,600 battery EVs and 130,000 hybrid and plug-in hybrid EVs in the country.

The scaling-up of EVs in the country will not be successful unless it is supported by adequate infrastructure and energy security. The expansion of EVs will drive energy consumption from the transport sector and create problems for the power grid. Increased and uncontrolled demand can stress existing infrastructure.

Thailand’s power sector consists of three systems – the generation, transmission and distribution systems. While the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) is responsible for electricity generation and transmission, the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) and Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) are responsible for distribution although they also own transmission lines.

To support e-mobility and make the country EV ready, power utilities in the country will have to undergo a transformation by taking up additional roles and adopting new technologies.

Implication of EVs on the power grid

The accelerating electrification of mobility will disrupt traditional models of the electricity system and pose new challenges for the power grid. The number of EVs in the country expected to reach 1.2 million by 2036 will triple the demand from the sector in the next 10 to 15 years.

In such a scenario, power utilities in Thailand will have to upgrade their infrastructure to meet the consumption of the transport sector and cope with new demand patterns. The growing demand for energy from EVs is likely to have the following implications on the power grid: increase in overall consumption, increase in peak demand and greater unpredictability caused by charging of vehicles at different locations and for varying lengths of time.

The growth in the EV market will not drive substantial increases in the total grid power demand in the short to medium term, thus making additional power generation during that period unnecessary. However, at much higher levels of EV penetration, the impact is expected to be significant.

A greater cause of concern for utilities with a rise in the sale of EVs will be the expected increase in peak demand. Uncontrolled EV charging will lead to an increase in evening peak loads as users will tend to charge their vehicles when they return home from work. Although at the system level it will represent a relatively small proportion of total demand, the changing load curve will create several challenges at the local level. The regional spread of EVs is likely to vary with some suburbs, streets and locations having a higher penetration of EVs than others. If multiple houses in these areas decide to charge simultaneously, they could overload the local electricity infrastructure, especially residential transformers.

EV charging can also increase grid unpredictability and increase network management complexity. Utilities need to be equipped to manage the impact on local grids, including increased asset stress. Charging of vehicles at different locations and for varying lengths of time leads to non-linear power demand. If unmanaged, this can increase the risk of stress on ageing infrastructure, leading to decreased lifetimes and increased replacement and upgradation rates for assets such as transformers, distribution lines, etc.

Coping with the expansion of EVs

Power utilities will have to be proactive in planning for significant future EV adoption. If utilities are not prepared to manage the transition effectively, they could become an obstacle in the scaling up of EV adoption. The utilities must leverage the flexibility of EVs to handle the impact of charging on the grid. They have several ways to address the situation including designing tariffs to encourage drivers to charge their vehicles at off-peak times, developing smart grids and deploying vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology.

The utilities need to design tariff systems that encourage EV owners to shift their charging behaviour by charging their vehicles at off-peak times such as after midnight instead of early evening. If most of the charging happens at night when demand is lower, utilities might be able to meet the new load demand with much lower investment. Smart pricing measures that incorporate time-variant rates where customers pay more for electricity during peak hours and less during off-peak hours will help load management and optimisation of the grid. Customers will also benefit from time-variant pricing by saving on electricity bills.

New technologies such as the development of smart grids can help utilities manage EV demand and maintain the security of the electricity system. A smart grid is an electrical network that uses internet of things (IoT) to allow two-way communication between the utilities and the consumers. They help make the generation, consumption, monitoring and maintenance processes more efficient. They also aid in making a transition from a centralised energy generation system to a distributed energy resource system, where sources at various scales can be added to the supply mix with limited disruption. Besides, they help reduce operational costs and transmission losses.

The deployment of smart grid systems will allow utilities to monitor real-time data, including the charging patterns of EVs. The synergy between smart grid infrastructure and EVs will help utilities make more informed decisions, especially in adverse situations such as transformer overloading, outages, unpredictable demand spikes, etc. Smart grids also enable a higher level of consumer participation through the use of smart meters. The technology will give EV owners information on real-time pricing and help them save money by inducing a reduction in power use when electricity is expensive.

Thailand has already initiated various activities to deploy smart grids to optimise the operation of the power system in the country. A central management system that analyses data from charging stations throughout the country has been developed and will help study the behaviour of EVs and their energy demand.

EGAT has also launched a smart grid pilot project in Muang district of Mae Hong Son province to make the power system in the district more stable. As the province of Mae Hong Son lies in the mountainous regions of the northern part of the country, the electricity transmission system of EGAT is not accessible. Power is currently delivered through distribution lines of PEA, which receives electricity from EGAT’s Mae Tang Substation. The area faces frequent power outages. Thus, the deployment of smart grid will help in enhancing generation and distribution systems in the region. EGAT has an approved budget of THB 1.081 billion for the project.

Other projects include the smart grid project in the Pattaya city area and the micro grid project in Mae Sariang district, both of which are operated by PEA. Pattaya city has plans to transform into a smart city with initiatives planned for smart mobility including the expansion of EVs. PEA has allocated a budget of THB 1.508 billion for the project. Power sources in the Mae Sariang District have unstable and inadequate generation capacity, resulting in poor power quality and frequent power failures. The smart grid project will help in combating theses issues. Currently, a budget of THB 847 million has been approved for the project.

The deployment of V2G technology can help support e-mobility in the country. V2G technology, which is still under development, enables the use of parked electric vehicles as storage resources which can supply electricity back to the grid. The electricity supplied can be used to meet the demand from the other sectors. Thus, consumers can not only consume but also store and sell electricity. However, it will still take some time before the technology becomes economical; at present, it could lead to additional wearing of the EV battery, the cost of which is already high.

Conclusion

Power utilities in Thailand play an important role in driving e-mobility in the country. The transition to EVs presents various challenges for utilities. The presence of multiple stakeholders with different speeds of adoption of technology also creates problems. Large investments in infrastructure and new technologies to upgrade the power grid can also slow down the expansion of EVs.

However, the upcoming EV revolution presents significant opportunities for utilities if they recognise the scale and pace of the change it is likely to bring about. To realise the benefits, the utilities must make essential and unavoidable investments in smart-charging infrastructure and achieve effective collaboration with stakeholders, which will ensure that EVs no longer pose challenges and that they will help utilities become smarter, greener and more cost-effective.