Probably. If nightly base-load power becomes as demanded as daily base-load, then the price would equalize and neither day nor night would be cheaper. However, some level of incentive would still need to be kept, otherwise the spike of car charging would just be shifted to 1800-2000, when everyone gets home and plugs in.
And really, the aluminum smelters was just one example. As the nightly price equalized with the daily price, all electricity would begin getting more expensive, and everything else with it. Much as, in current times, increases in oil price can increase the price of everything.
Here's a hypothetical: Do you think it would be feasible to create a plug that has a unique id such that an electric car could be charged remotely, but billed to the owner of the car rather than the person providing access to the power grid?
yeh you could do it but what a hassle. Would require new meters at the premises, as well as each individual circuits for each charging station that you wanted to bill (otherwise there would be no way to separate out the usage).
Yes, absolutely, that wouldn't be difficult at all. A car's charging plug could have a chip such as is present in newer credit cards, and the transaction would be automatic.
