A 2040 ban on conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans would push up UK electricity demand by less than 10% by mid-century, analysis shows.
Concerns have been raised that the shift from combustion engine cars to electric vehicles (EVs), signalled when ministers announced the end of sales of conventional petrol and diesel models in 2040 to tackle pollution, will strain the power grid.
There have been fears that people coming home from work and plugging in their electric cars to charge would significantly increase peak demand and require more power plants.
But analysis by Cambridge Econometrics suggests annual electricity consumption would rise by 40 to 45 terrawatt hours by 2050, upping overall power use by less than 10%.
And evidence suggests electric car drivers will not put undue strain on the grid, even at peak times, according to the Carbon Brief website, which reports on climate science and energy policy.
Some EV users already take advantage of cheaper overnight tariffs to charge their cars, or plug them in to public charging units while at work.
Research by UK Power Networks shows EV charging reaches a peak two hours later than expected, at 9pm, outside the period of overall peak UK demand.
The introduction of “time-of-use” tariffs would also ensure charging outside peak hours.
The analysis by Cambridge Econometrics also looked at an earlier ban, in 2030, and found it would have a similar impact.
It also revealed that ending sales of new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040 would cut tailpipe emissions of climate change-causing carbon dioxide from current levels of 60 million tonnes a year to 14 million tonnes in 2040.
Bringing the ban forward to 2030 would reduce emissions in 2040 to around seven million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Even if electric cars are being charged from a power system that encompasses fossil fuels including some coal, it still reduces carbon emissions because EVs are more efficient than combustion engine vehicles, Carbon Brief said.
The emissions associated with producing electric batteries are said to be more than offset by the carbon savings they deliver during their lifetime.
