DETROIT -- With smart planning, the nation's power grid will be able to handle the emergence of plug-in hybrids in the U.S. market, says an environmental specialist for the Electric Power Research Institute.

Speaking at the Automotive News Green Car Conference and Exhibition, Eladio Knipping, senior technical manager, environment, at EPRI, predicted a smooth transition. And he stood by his prediction even if -- under one EPRI scenario -- the plug-in hybrid penetration rate in this country rises to 60 percent by 2050.

"Yes, the grid can handle it," said Knipping. He said that assumes a modest increase in power load over time. Also, power companies would need to use smart technologies to maximize electricity use in off-peak hours, and consumers would have to be educated on the best times to charge their vehicles.

Consumers would need incentives to charge at night, such as lower rates, he added.

In an 18-month joint study with the Natural Resources Defense Council, EPRI examined the potential environmental impact of widespread plug-in hybrid use between 2010 and 2050. The study looked at different levels of plug-in sales, and different sources of electricity, including coal, natural gas and nuclear power plants.

The study's conclusion: The greatest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will occur through a combination of high plug-in hybrid vehicle penetration and advanced methods of generating electricity, such as using carbon capture technology in newer coal plants.

But even if older coal-fired plants were the only source of electricity for plug-in vehicles, he said, the greenhouse gases emissions from the plants would be 25 percent lower than the emissions generated by an equal number of vehicles running on gasoline. Under all other scenarios, emissions dropped at least to the level of an equal number of hybrid vehicles -- or lower.

"What we're seeing," Knipping said, "is an incredible opportunity to avoid CO2 emissions by going to electrification."