Making Smart Transportation Work in Smart Cities

Electric mobility offers cleaner air, higher energy efficiency, and a path towards substantially increased flexibility in controlling the power system. Transportation is currently the source of most urban smog. Electric transportation is tailor-made for Smart Cities. Energy storage inherent in the auto batteries adds a dispatchable, curtailable load in the near-term and provides a foundation for fully integrating this large, flexible load into power system operations in longer-term. The added flexibility will provide an excellent complement for further increases in renewable generation. This papers describes key characteristics of an electrified transportation system and discusses opportunities and potential issues that may arise as a consequence of the attendant electric load growth.