RealTime distributed congestion control for electrical vehicle charging

The significant load and unpredictable mobility of electric vehicles (EVs) makes them a challenge for grid distribution systems. Unlike most current approaches to control EV charging, which construct optimal charging schedules by predicting EV state of charge and future behaviour, we leverage the anticipated widespread deployment of measurement and control points to propose an alternative vision. In our approach, drawing from a comparative analysis of Internet and distribution grid congestion, control actions taken by a charger every few milliseconds in response to congestion signals allow it to rapidly reduce its charging rate to avoid grid congestion. We sketch three control schemes that embody this vision and compare their relative merits and demerits.