EV Charging Timing Could Halve Peaks
03rd August 2026
The timing of electric vehicle charging could make a dramatic difference to Australia’s future electricity demand, with Monash University analysis suggesting grid-friendly charging could halve peak demand compared with unmanaged evening charging.
The analysis highlights how charging behaviour could influence electricity demand, costs and grid reliability as EV adoption accelerates across Australia.
Monash University Department of Materials Science and Engineering associate professor Julie Karel, who contributed to Monash Energy Institute research and a submission to the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Electricity Supply for Electric Vehicles, said the electricity grid could accommodate growing EV numbers provided charging was appropriately managed.
“The grid can handle EVs – but only if charging is managed to match how the electricity system runs best,” Karel said.
“It’s tempting to think the problem is simply ‘more demand’, but electricity systems don’t usually fail because demand increases gradually. They get stressed when everyone wants power at the same time, in the same few hours.”
The modelling illustrates the scale of the potential difference.
By 2050, peak electricity demand could reach about 100 gigawatts under a scenario where EV owners predominantly use unmanaged evening charging.
Under grid-friendly charging, however, peak demand is projected to be about 50 gigawatts.
“If EV charging simply becomes one more thing that happens every day at 6 pm, the system peak grows, and peaks drive costs,” Karel said.
The alternative is to encourage motorists to charge vehicles when electricity demand is lower or renewable generation is plentiful.
Karel said shifting EV charging into daytime periods when solar generation was strong, as well as quieter overnight periods, could allow electric vehicles to support rather than simply add pressure to the electricity system.
EVs could therefore help absorb clean electricity when it is readily available while reducing pressure on the grid during periods of peak demand.
The findings suggest managing when millions of EVs recharge could become just as important as providing the electricity and charging infrastructure required to support Australia’s transition to electric transport.
Click here for a copy of Monash’s submission to the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Electricity Supply for Electric Vehicles