Formula E increases available power during races for 2017/18 season
Formula E will increase the amount of power available to drivers during races for the 2017/18 season
The provision to allow an extra 10kW power usage - up from 170kW to 180kW - has been written into the electric series' roadmap since 2015 and will be implemented for the first time next season after it was approved by the World Motor Sport Council on Monday.
Increasing race power to 180kW also brings race power closer to that available in qualifying, which is currently 200kW.
The hike in available power has the potential to increase focus on energy management during races.
"I think the effect on energy management will come down to what the FIA decides to do on race length," Andretti team principal Roger Griffiths, who also heads up the Formula E Teams' Association, told Autosport.
"If the races are longer or even the same length, having the extra power will make it a little harder to complete the race.
"But perhaps people will have made efficiency improvements to their overall powertrains so this may compensate for some of it."
Venturi's Maro Engel said: "I think it is extremely positive and it will make a difference.
"The pace will be quicker, battery temperatures will change and it will make a difference related to the data which has been gathered this year and there will be faster races as well.
"In general the roadmap is there to continuously keep making Formula E faster and it is a positive idea as far as I am concerned."
IN-SEASON TEST REINSTATED
Additional changes for the season ratified by the WMSC include more testing opportunities for teams, with the return of an in-season test day.
In-season testing was part of the first two seasons' sporting structure with a full day of testing taking place in 2014 and 2015 on the day after the Punta del Este event in Uruguay.
It was scrapped this year after plans for a day of running after the Mexico City ePrix came to nothing.
For season four it is believed that either Marrakesh or Mexico could host the extra day of running.
Autosport understands that teams lobbied promoters to reinstate the in-season test.
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