Why are engineers not alarmed?
Sales of electric cars are rising fast, and with them comes a question: can the electricity grid cope? If millions of owners plug in their cars at six o'clock each evening, demand would surge at precisely the hour when it is already high. Yet engineers are not alarmed. Most cars are parked for over 90 per cent of the time and can be charged at night when demand is low. With smart chargers, supply companies can even delay or speed charging in response to the state of the grid, and in the future cars may feed power back at peak times. The real obstacle, many experts say, is not the grid as a whole but the local cables in residential streets, which were not designed for several chargers on the same road.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Charging can be shifted to times of low demand
- Step 1: Cars are parked most of the time and can charge at night.
Answer
Charging can be shifted to times of low demand.
Why not the others: Electric cars use plenty of power, no new power stations are mentioned, and workplace charging is not stated.
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