Cash boost for electric car charging points

The Government has announced that £37.5 million of funding is to be used towards improving the electric car infrastructure in a bid to improve sales of plug-in models like the Nissan Leaf and Vauxhall Ampera.

This latest investment will be used to pay for the installation of charging points at the homes of interested EV owners, as well as for on street charging points and plug-in points at train stations.

The Government will subsidise 75 per cent of the cost of these charging points, with the public, council or train operators paying the difference.

This isn’t new funding from the Government, however; instead it will be taken from the £400 million already set aside for the £5,000 EV grant.

Up to £13.5m of the £37m will make up the funds to the public who want a domestic charge point. This is almost as much as the £17m that’s been spent subsidising the purchase of electric cars – as there has only been 3,400 applications for the £5,000 grant since it was introduced in April 2011.

Transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, said: “This investment underlines the government’s commitment to making sure that the UK is a world leader in the electric car industry.”

It typically costs around £1,000 to have a domestic charge point installed – meaning the Government would pay £750 with the owner picking up the remaining £250. On-street charge points cost around £10,000 – with the fund paying £7,5000 and the council or local EV owners covering the rest of the bill.

Andreas Atkins, Head of Electric Vehicle Services at British Gas said: “Having a viable public charging network is really important to the continued growth of EVs and the Government’s commitment to Plugged-in-Places is great news.”