The number of Electric car charge points must increase dramatically before 2030 petrol and diesel car ban says a new report

Charging Blackspot worries

The highly controversial and ambitious plans to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2030 has raised concerns that the UK currently doesn't have the required infrastructure to support such a move. A new report released by the think tank Policy Exchange suggests that the rollout of electric car chargers across the country needs to be five times quicker if the ban is to be feasible.

An extra 400,000 public charges will need to be installed by the 2030 deadline, and the rate of installations needs to increase from the current 7,000 per year to a whopping 35,000 per year over the next few years.

Questions over how viable a mass introduction of Evs remains. With the government at all levels so far not answering concerns over how Britain's often packed streets will be able to charge everyone's cars.

Worries over the increased burden on the UK energy grid have also been raised, and energy suppliers are likely to face new regulations and rules regarding providing energy for EV charging on such a massive scale.

Many people don't have a garage or off-street parking, so new thinking will need to be announced about how public electric car charge points will work on streets where residents often cannot park outside their homes.

The report also warns that many rural areas and small towns were at risk of becoming charging blackspots without rapid intervention.

"Whereas a driver of a petrol car can travel confidently from Land's End to John O'Groats, knowing that they can refill the tank every few miles, that is not yet the case for Evs. Some areas have naturally built-up impressive coverage, such as central London, but vast swathes of the country have not," said Simon Clarke, Conservative MP.

Rod Dennis, of the RAC, said: "Without a big increase in the number of charge points right across the UK, certain parts of the country risk getting left behind as 2030 approaches. Having a sufficient number of charge points will also become especially important in those rural areas of the UK that see large annual influxes of visitors by car in the summer months."

Also read: Electric Car ownership must rise 11,000% for the UK to hit Net-zero target

Several recommendations

The Policy Exchange report offered several recommendations that include the use of private firms to install charging points in remote locations as well as provide funding for dedicated teams at the local council level.

It also suggests that electric car chargers installed by government-backed agencies should have its maximum price point regulated to avoid providers exploiting EV owners and taking advantage of limited charge points.

Another recommendation was to introduce improvements to the charging experience, which should include apps to help drivers easily find their nearest charging points and allow them to pay for charging.

Also read: What does Boris Johnson’s 2030 Ban on new Petrol and Diesel cars mean for energy suppliers?

Energy Suppliers and the Evs opportunity

As the 2030 deadline draws closer, we are likely to see the government and regulator turn to energy suppliers for support when it comes to EV charging.

Several energy suppliers have already introduced EV tariffs that reward consumers for charging their vehicles at specific times. More of these tariffs are likely to be introduced to the market.

Energy suppliers could use existing energy infrastructure to streamline the process and aggregate consumption to be passed through to consumers on a straightforward energy bill.

Suppliers will also play a pivotal role via the smart meter rollout as the data collected by SMETS2 meters will enable suppliers to create accurate customer profiles and allow the creation of bespoke tariffs.

Also read: 5 Ways Energy Suppliers Can Help EV Owners

The Government claims that the UK's charging network is already world-leading and has urged local councils to take advantage of the £20 million fund it has introduced to help boost the number of EV charging points.

Further Reading

What do Energy Supply companies need to consider when selling Electricity to EV owners?

Electric Car Sales increased 172% year on year as overall car sales hit 9 -year low

Green Tariffs alone not enough to attract Environmentally minded consumers

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