Are New York's Electric Company Infrastructures Ready for Electric Vehicles

Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are coming to our roads sooner than you might think. If you aren’t interested in green driving or don’t plan to purchase an electric vehicle then you may think that this news doesn’t affect you. However, if you are an energy customer in the areas where these vehicles are likely to be common then you may want to pay closer attention to the news. That’s because if energy companies in your area aren’t prepared for the onslaught of these vehicles then the energy infrastructure in your area might suffer.

A new report on electric vehicle forecasts put together by Pike Research reveals that there will be more than 350,000 PEVs on the road by 2017. The two most popular states for these vehicles will be California and New York. The metro areas of these states, specifically New York City in New York, are the areas that will rapidly be flooded with plug-in electric vehicles. You’ll start seeing vehicles like the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf on your streets soon if you live in the area. In fact, PEV sales are expected to make up nearly four percent of new car sales in New York by 2017.

If the electric companies aren’t ready for the increased demand that these vehicles place on the electric grid, you could start seeing the impact in the form of power outages as well. Major New York utility companies like Con Ed and Orange & Rockland really need to get in gear if they way their energy infrastructures to stand up to this increased pressure on their grids. Customers of these companies already regularly deal with power outages caused by a variety of different forces. Adding the additional impact of PEVs could be devastating if these companies don’t get ahead of the curve and start adapting their power infrastructures immediately.

The Pike Research report is designed to aid with this problem. The hope is that electric companies in New York and other areas where PEV adoption will be strongest are going to use the report’s information to get ahead of the trend. Currently, however, there is no agreement in the industry on how to develop a strong infrastructure to support these vehicles. Will your New York energy company be able to adapt? And as they do, will they pass these increased infrastructure costs on to energy customers in the form of rate hikes? Let’s hope not! But keep your eye on new developments to make sure that you’re getting the energy you need without an added cost!

Source: http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/stories/researchers-predict-359000-plug-in-electric-vehicles-by-2017