A Synthetic Case Study for Analysis of the Rising Interdependency between the Power Grid and E-Mobility

Abstract

Critical infrastructures are interdependent systems that are continuously evolving. Their evolution is, oftentimes, in a way that tightens, or creates new, interdependences. As urban areas continue to develop, the philosophy of officials and policy makers to meet growth in the energy demand tends to prioritize sustainable planning by deferring infrastructural upgrades and relying instead on the smart operation. Relying on information and communication technology (ICT) network is a prerequisite to achieving smart operation. With the anticipated high penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) and electric vehicles (EVs), increased reliance on real-time monitoring and control is a must for the power grid to handle such unprecedented levels of load/generation uncertainties. This paper sheds light on how the power grid, the ICT network, and the transportation network are interrelated and interdependent. This paper also presents a benchmark problem for this type of research and a case study. Initial results of the case study show that the impact of these rising interdependences may be significant and must be fully understood and taken into consideration.