Impact of the coronavirus pandemic on electric vehicle workplace charging

Abstract

The University of California, San Diego, has responded to the growth of Electric Vehicle (EV) ownership by continually adding charging stations all around campus over the past five years. In March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic caused a massive decline in EV charging as shelter-in-place orders were issued and the campus closed except for the medical centers. Overall, EV charging energy demand decreased by over 73%. But the decrease was uneven as direct current fast charger (DCFC) stations and the charging stations at the university's medical centers took on a larger percentage of the total campus load. Charging energy provided at the nonmedical stations decreased by 84%, while it decreased 50% at medical stations and 67% at DCFC stations. DCFC showed the strongest recovery in charging energy during the shutdown. The distribution of charging energy during the day and the charging duration did not change during the shutdown, while the plug-in duration increased. Implications for decarbonizing the transportation and electrical power systems are discussed.