22 November 2021
The Government has announced that all new homes and buildings such as supermarkets and workplaces, as well as those undergoing major renovation, will be required to install electric vehicle charge points from the beginning of 2022. The decision follows a consultation on the issue.
The Government says that up to 145,000 extra charge points will be installed across England each year thanks to these regulations. It has supported the installation of over 250,000 home and workplace charge points to date.
As well as new homes and non-residential buildings, those undergoing largescale renovations which leaves them with over 10 parking spaces will be required to install charge points.
New data from Zap-Map shows that the UK now has over 27,000 EV charge points (over 47,000 connectors) split between over 17,000 locations. This tally includes over 5,000 rapid chargers. Ubitricity (owned by Shell) currently operates the most EV chargers of a single network in the UK, with 4,133 (15.1%). This is followed by Pod Point (12.6%), BP Pulse (10.4%) and ChargePlace Scotland (7%).
Meanwhile Connected Kerb says it is aiming to install 190,000 public on-street EV chargers by 2030, a task which will require up to £1.9 billion in investment.
Stakeholders broadly welcomed the Government’s announcement, providing the installations are fit-for-purpose and as widely accessible as possible. (A selection, credit Transport & Energy follows.)
Emma Pinchbeck, Chief Executive of Energy UK, said: “It’s clearly the right move to ensure that new homes and offices are fit for our low carbon future, which includes the installation of electric vehicle chargepoints at the time of construction rather than afterwards. So it’s of equal importance that new builds should also be required to meet high standards of energy efficiency as soon as possible – rather than by 2025 as is currently proposed.”
Gill Nowell, a Director of EVA England, welcoming the Government’s promise, said: “We must ensure that the chargers are designed and installed with all drivers in mind, that all drivers feel safe whilst charging their car, and that they work, are easy to use, and are fit for purpose – it’s no good having a really slow charger installed in a supermarket where someone is only stopping for half an hour, for example.
“We’re at a pivotal moment in electric car history. Let’s get it right from this moment forward, and bring everyone along with us on the road to getting an electric car.”
Ross Easton, Director of External Affairs at Energy Networks Association, said: “This is great news for those living in new homes, but we must make sure access to charging points is not exclusive – charging points must be accessible to everyone. To truly ‘level up’ charging point access and deliver on the COP26 electric vehicle pledges requires strategic planning at all levels of government, nationally and locally.”
