Greek power utility Public Power Corporation (PPC) is planning to run a pilot program charging electric-powered cars in designated spots in a plan being drawn up in cooperation with major European car industries.
The program is part of the European Union Merge scheme which is being coordinated by PPC as head of a consortium and includes the involvement of power companies, various organizations and universities.
The aim of the program is to study the large-scale impact electric-powered cars might have on the EU’s power grid and the drawing up of a “road map” for the promotion of the environmentally friendly vehicles in Europe.
The concept is further based on the idea that the cars will also serve as mobile electrical power storage units.
PPC’s vice president, Nikos Hatziargyriou said that this may change electricity demand levels.
The operator of a Europe-wide electrical energy system would be able to draw on power stored in the vehicles while parked and channel it into the system, points out Hatziargyriou, as he highlights the system’s potential.
Apart from limiting pollution, it also offers the potential to store cheap energy from renewable energy sources which can then be consumed during peak hours, he added.
The overall plan envisages a “smart network” that offers an operator the ability to locate points at which cars are parked, the amount of time that the vehicle has stopped there and current energy demand levels in the system.
The operators of the system will offer the car owners special prices for energy contributed to the system which is then offset by the cost of power drawn from the network.
A likely location to set up the first such program in Greece would be the east Attica prefecture of Pallini, added the PPC official.