UK's patchy EV charging network put drivers at risk of being stranded

“Patchy” and rife with “inequalities” – that’s the government’s Public Accounts Committee’s evaluation of the UK’s electric car charging network after an official report found several dark spots across the nation, leaving drivers at risk of being stranded.

While the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the body that monitors the effectiveness of the government’s public spending, observed that the UK’s charging infrastructure is “gathering pace”, there is great concern that the majority of new chargepoints are being installed within dense urban areas, such as London.

The Chairman of the PAC and Conservative MP for the North Cotswolds, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown says this “allows Londoners to easily zip around the capital”. And while the government is currently on track to hit its target of 300,000 public chargers in 2030, over 43 per cent of units currently installed are in London and the South East. 

According to the PAC’s findings, there are currently insufficient numbers of public chargers located near several major A-roads in the North, West and South West. Plus the government is still yet to meet its target of having at least six ultra-rapid units installed at all 113 major motorway service stations; at the time of writing, only 80 (70 per cent) have met the above requirements.

This is perhaps unsurprising, because although the previous Conservative administration pledged £950 million of public funds to strengthen the rapid charging network, a single penny has yet to be invested. 

On a more localised level, authorities have struggled to overcome the red tape when it comes to the implementation of slow-speed chargers as part of the government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund. This was designed to ensure an even spread of EV chargers throughout the country – particularly in suburban and urban areas. 

However, with local authorities struggling to comply with regulations, several projects have met delays, with only 10 of the current 78 commissioned projects set to be completed by the end of this month. 

The PAC also notes that many chargepoint operators may be less inclined to invest in certain areas, due to a lack of financial incentives, while the government’s concept of ensuring a certain number of “chargers per head” may not work in certain areas that experience large influxes of tourists at certain times of the year.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly for some, the cost of using public EV chargers remains stubbornly high. The PAC pointed out how those without charging facilities at home pay a premium to charge up, following calls from the automotive industry, as well as political parties such as the Liberal Democrats, to slash VAT on public charging from 20 per cent to five per cent in order to squeeze the gap between public and domestic electricity rates.

Clifton-Brown concluded, saying that while “[it’s] welcome to see the EV charging roll-out beginning to ramp up, with all the implicit benefits that bearing down on emissions will bring… this roll-out is not currently taking place equally across the nation.

“Our report therefore challenges [the] Government – it must move at pace to overcome current delays and encourage take-up, while taking the time to ensure no-one gets left behind in this all-important shift to the future.”

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