Competitive Pricing Strategy for the Wireless Charging Lane Operator Considering Range Anxiety of Electric Vehicle Users

On-road wireless charging is an emerging charging method, in addition to plug-in charging, that is a promising application in the future smart grid. Hence, in this paper, a competitive pricing strategy for the wireless charging lane (WCL) is proposed to maximize the economic benefits of the WCL operator. First, the competitive pricing strategy is formulated based on a non-cooperative game between the WCL operator and the charging station (CS). An iterative optimal pricing searching algorithm is developed to find the Nash equilibrium of the game. Second, a tri-level framework is established to derive the optimal competitive price considering the interaction among the WCL operator, the power distribution network (PDN) operator, and EV users. Third, the range anxiety of EV users is mathematically modeled based on Prospect theory. Numerical results indicate that the pricing strategy is effective in enhancing the attractiveness and profitability of the WCL operator. In addition, the utility of EV users is increased as well. Moreover, the PDN loss cost can be reduced, and downward voltage violation can be avoided.