2007. Impacts Assessment of Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles on Electric

The current U.S. electric grid has spare generation and transmission capacity at night. Without considering some of the practical constraints that could apply to the significantly increased operation of the existing capacity or the need to maintain operating reserves, the current spare capacity could generate and deliver the necessary energy to power the majority of the U.S. light-duty vehicle fleet, if that fleet consisted of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). If this occurred,, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve the economics of the electricity industry, and reduce the U.S. dependency on foreign oil. Two companion papers investigate this concept. The overall screening approach frames the analysis from a simple grid capability and economics point of view. The first paper (Part 1) discusses the maximum technical potential of PHEVs without adding new electricity infrastructure or considering operational constraints. This second paper (Part 2) provides an economic assessment of the impacts of PHEV adoption on vehicle owners and on electric utilities. To estimate vehicle owner impacts, the paper calculates the life-cycle cost (LCC) of private vehicle transportation for vehicle owners with PHEVs and compares it with the LCC for conventional light-duty vehicles. To calculate the impacts on electric utilities, the paper provides estimates of the impacts of PHEVs on the revenue and cost streams of two sample utilities, one with its own generating resources, and one that is highly dependent on imported power (“wires only”). This calculation assumes that the host utility and the grid will have to make only minor accommodations to absorb a substantial number of vehicles. With these and other assumptions, the paper finds favorable impacts on the LCC of vehicle owners and average costs of power for both types of utilities