Taipower Smart Grid

In accordance with the government’s “Net Zero by 2050” policy, the following goals need to be achieved: complete converting government-owned vehicles and public transport buses by 2030 to electric, also for whole the new sales Electric Vehicles (including motorcycles) by 2040. Therefore, Taiwan Power Company (TPC) has transformed itself from an original power facilitator to an active participant, and also formulated the following strategies for implementation:

Maintain stable power supply: In accordance with the government’s policy to promote domestic Electric Vehicles, the development of EV and the growth of charging stations, TPC do our best to make sure the power supply, and plan the infrastructure to deal with future power demand.
Smart power management: Continuously guide charging operators and customers to use the Energy Management System (EMS) for Electric Vehicle charging control. Disperse the charging time and regulate the charging power, and use the demand response and Time of Use (TOU) plans mechanism to suppress the peak load during off-peak hours charging, achieving the effect of efficient energy utilization and meanwhile suppress the investment of infrastructure.
Dedicated meter to supply power: In order to ensure the stability of power supply and the safety of electricity use in buildings, TPC plans to promote the charging facilities in the collective housing in stages and only agree to use the power supply method of a dedicated household. First stage applies to the new collective housing since 2022/3/1, and according to the development of EV, TPC scrolling review the start points of second stage, which promoted for the existing collective housing. Now with more than 400 buildings have set up since announcement.

2.　TOU plans

The development of electric vehicles is related to the deployment of charging. However, in the initial stage of deployment, electric vehicles have not yet been popularized and the utilization rate is low, resulting in a high proportion of basic electricity charges for the burden of electricity charges. In addition, considering the charging speed and time selection flexibility of electric vehicles, through high peak to off-peak price difference guides car owners to avoid charging during peak period, which can relieve system peak load and reduce the burden of electricity charges for car owners. In order to respond to the impact of electric vehicle electricity consumption as soon as possible and assist in the promotion of electric vehicles, TPC refers to foreign utilities, announced the “TOU of electric vehicle charging and swapping facilities” on May 30, 2022, adopting “low basic fee (about 20% of the electricity price for normal TOU), high peak to off-peak price difference (4 times the difference) ), long off-peak time (18 hours a day)” electricity price design, with more than 500 users have adopted it since announcement.

3.　EV power application service fleet

Electric Vehicle charging facilities are the electricity equipment of consumer. Relevant applications for electricity use and application for meter installation must be handled according to the “Business Regulations” which follows the approval of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, stipulated by TPC. According to the electricity equipment capacity requested by the user (including newly installed electricity equipment, added electricity equipment, etc.), the TPC team will evaluate the regional load situation and feeder capacity margin, and install power transformers in time to provide the electric power needed for charging facilities. Business Regulations has been placed under the terms of TPC’s website (www.taipower.com.tw) for the electricity consumer to follow.

Moreover, each branch of TPC has set up contact windows for electric vehicle, and publicized on the official website for consultation, meanwhile TPC continually promote the community, relevant associations, and organizations to apply dedicated meter to supply power. Till March. 2024, TPC has promoted to more than 3,000 units.

To assist the public in understanding the required documents and related regulations for applying for electricity for electric vehicles charging facilities, TPC has formulated the “Self-Checklist for Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment (Electricity Application)” for reference by electrical technicians and electrical installation industry associations. It has been disseminated to all regional branches and is available on the “Taiwan Power Company Website/Business Announcements/Business Section/Electric Vehicle Electricity Service Section.” It outlines the necessary documents and related regulations for reviewing distribution site, user’s electrical equipment design data review, and electricity application. The information is transparent and publicly available. If there are still questions, individuals can also inquire at the service centers and offices of each regional branch or call the 24-hour toll-free customer service hotline 1911.

4.　EV charging Infrastructures

TPC has built an electric vehicle smart charging demonstration site in Taipei City Branch, simulating public charging stations(1F), commercial buildings(B1F), and residences(B2F). Introducing EMS for intelligent charging control, dedicated meters to provide electricity of overall plan power pipelines. The form shows the installation method of charging points that can include new designs and any existing objects, to achieve the advantages of clean lines and power management, and to provide a reference for external equipment to set up charging points.
In public charging stations(1F) for the demonstration site mentioned above, we have built two DC charging device, utilizing the functions such as Energy Management System (EMS) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to validate smart energy management technology such as charging and discharging data collection, schedule management, and Vehicle to Grid (V2G).
In response to the promotion of the Ministry of Communications to install about 6,500 public charging points in public parking lots, airports, and railway nodes, TPC will cooperate to provide sufficient and stable power; in addition, due to the short parking time of expressway service areas, the installation capacity will be larger due to the DC fast charging. TPC has discussed with the Ministry of Communications Expressway Bureau and the Transportation Research Institute to confirm that it meets the needs. The relevant power grid strengthening project will be launched in the future to prepare for the comprehensive popularization of electric vehicles in the future.
Cooperate with the Ministry of Communications’ plan to replace more than 12,000 electric buses from 2024 to 2030, and the overall electricity demand for electric bus charging will reach more than 730MW. Considering that electric buses are mainly operated during the day and charged during off-peak hours at night, TPC will guide passenger transport operators to introduce EMS and adopt EV TOU to manage charging, so as to reduce the impact of peak load on the system, and cooperate with the newly expanded power grid project, which can meet the new electricity demand of electric buses in the future.