It has been proven that a high number of electric cars can put a strain on the power grid. The Federal Network Agency therefore wants to reduce customers' electricity consumption in an emergency.
Stuttgart/Bonn - With the ramp-up of e-car production, the charging network in Germany is also being expanded. The energy supplier EnBW, for example, has opened a new fast-charging park for electric cars in Stuttgart and many other German cities. However, many owners still charge their electric or semi-electric vehicles via domestic electricity. For fear of a blackout, the United Kingdom had already restricted electricity for e-cars a year ago, and the head of the Federal Network Agency also considers such a measure possible in an emergency.
The fact that many e-cars that charge at the same time on the power grid can put a lot of strain on the grid was revealed by a project by the EnBW subsidiary Netze BW last year. In an interview with Manager Magazin, the head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, explained that the federal authority wanted to enable the connection of wallboxes for e-cars, but also give regional network operators the option of reducing consumption in an emergency. "An electric car driver can then charge the battery a little more slowly," he said.
According to the Federal Network Agency, grid operators should have the option of reducing customers' electricity consumption in an emergency. © Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
According to the Federal Network Agency, grid operators should be "given the opportunity to dim consumption"
The German government has set a major goal with regard to climate-friendly road transport. According to this, by 2030 there should be at least seven to ten million electric cars on the roads and one million charging points should be available. Since the conversion to heat pumps that use electricity for heating is also required at the same time, there are fears of overloading the power grid in the long term. "Everyone comes home and wants to charge their electric car after work," says Klaus Müller, describing a possible scenario. "It is important to prevent grid overloads."
However, no one can yet say how severe such grid overloads will be in the future due to the many e-cars and heat pumps. Due to the changed world of work, in which many companies continue to offer employees the option of working from home even after the Corona pandemic, it is no longer possible to say when and how often owners will charge their e-cars from the house electricity. "However, our regulation must be prepared for all eventualities," Müller said in an interview with Manager Magazin. "Grid operators should be given the opportunity to dim the consumption of electricity customers."
Regulation for e-car drivers should not mean that vehicles cannot be charged
| Name | Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway (BNetzA) |
|---|---|
| Foundation | 1 January 1998 |
| Head office | Bonn, Germany |
| Supervisory authority | Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy |
| Jurisdiction | Regulation and monitoring of telecommunications, postal services, energy and railways in Germany |
| President | Klaus Müller |
| Employees | 2832 |
However, there is no reason to fear that e-car drivers will no longer be able to charge their vehicles overnight in order to drive them to work the next morning. "It's explicitly not about the fact that an e-car can't charge at all," says Müller. In addition, customers would receive a reduction in network fees in the event of a throttling. "And the network operators must immediately expand those networks in which problems arise." The federal authority also expects that restrictions will only be imposed by the grid operator in emergencies and that the electricity will be sufficient for the journey to work.