Comprehensive Assessment of Grid Benefits from Smart EV Charging Management

The rapid growth of electric vehicle (EV) adoption introduces significant opportunities and challenges for electric utilities. While rising EV charging demand can increase asset utilization and unlock new flexibility and grid-support capabilities, it also poses risks of localized overloads and operational constraints on distribution systems. This paper addresses the challenge of quantifying these impacts and evaluating smart charging management (SCM) strategies by presenting a trans-portation-distribution co-simulation framework. The study examines a spectrum of SCM approaches, including uncontrolled charging, pricing-based strategies, centralized and fully decentralized coordination, and grid-aware active control schemes. Results show that EV integration can increase the Asset Utilization Rate (AUR) of service transformers but may also exacerbate transformer overloads under uncoordinated charging behavior. Comparisons across SCM strategies reveal that their differing control objectives lead to varying impacts on transformer loading and overall grid performance. Notably, decentralized and gridaware SCM approaches can effectively mitigate overload risks while preserving the benefits associated with higher asset utilization. Overall, the findings highlight both the challenges utilities face in managing growing EV demand and the substantial opportunities that well-designed SCM solutions offer for enhancing grid reliability and supporting efficient, scalable EV integration.