An evaluation of PHEV contributions to power system disturbances and economics

As fossil fuels prices climb higher, the search for alternative modes of transportation intensifies. Several solutions have been proposed: increase fuel economy of current vehicles, expand use of ethanol, enlarge the current hybrid electrical vehicle fleet, create a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, or create a more effective electric vehicle. One other possible solution is the transformation of current hybrid electric vehicles into larger capacity plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). It has become a promising advancement in technology with a small amount of innovation. Pluggable hybrids provide a completely new way to store mass amounts of energy from the power grid. With larger battery storage, the PHEV has the ability to run in all-electric mode for commuters, switch to conventional gasoline engine for longer trips, and provide support to the power grid needed in emergency situations. This paper explores the benefit of using a heavy penetration of PHEVs to act as support to the grid during contingencies and also the costs incurred with security constrained control.