Decentralized Charging of Plug-In Electric Vehicles

Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are equipped with sizable batteries to replace fossil fuel with electric energy. The electric grid may be stressed when a large number of PEVs charge their batteries, especially during peak hours. This paper presents a PEV charging control algorithm, which achieves balance between the system-level objective (valley filling) and individual-level objective (full battery charging). In addition, grid frequency regulation is achieved through a two-level control algorithm, which ensures robustness and reduces reliance on conventional ancillary services. This two-level control algorithm is scalable because it is designed for decentralized implementation. In other words, the algorithm works with indefinite numbers of PEVs as long as the load is within the grid capacity.