OK, I haven't Read The Fine Article, but an earlier item from the IEEE that I think was submitted to HN pointed out among other things that neighborhood transformers aren't sized for high output 24x7 (they need off-peak nights to cool).  California utilities expect to lose some <i>this year</i> in areas like Santa Monica.<p>There were other issues mentioned, like a Canadian utility that sells cheap "green" hydropower to California during the day and saves up water during the night; if they/California get a lot of nighttime demand they'll have to buy coal fired power from another province.<p>Hey, the system was build under one set of assumptions; if you change those <i>drastically</i> as the electric car people propose to do it won't adapt automatically or cheaply.  You can't fool Mother Nature.