  The electrification of heavy-duty vehicles (HDEVs) is a nascent and rapidly
emerging avenue for decarbonization of the transportation sector. In this
paper, we examine the impacts of increased vehicle electrification on the power
grid infrastructure, with particular focus on HDEVs. We utilize a synthetic
representation of the 2000-bus Texas transmission grid, and realistic
representations of multiple distribution grids in Travis county, Texas, as well
as transit data pertaining to HDEVs, to uncover the consequences of HDEV
electrification, and expose the limitations imposed by existing electric grid
infrastructure. Our analysis reveals that grid-wide voltage problems that are
spatiotemporally correlated with the mobility of HDEVs may occur even at modest
penetration levels. In fact, we find that as little as 11% of heavy duty
vehicles in Texas charging simultaneously can lead to significant voltage
violations on the transmission network that compromise grid reliability.
Furthermore, we find that just a few dozen EVs charging simultaneously can lead
to voltage violations at the distribution level.
