Five local authorities are joining forces with UK Power Networks to end electric vehicle (EV) charging blackspots in their areas.
Charge Collective, a pilot project, will see UKPN partner with Cambridge City and Cambridgeshire County Councils, Norwich City Council, Norfolk County Council and the London Borough of Redbridge. By sharing data and expertise, the local authorities will help UK Power Networks to identify charge point blackspots.
The network operator will then hold a competition to incentivise investors to bid at the lowest cost to deliver the priority charge points. Taking such a co-ordinated approach aims to make it more financially viable for charge point operators to create a wider network of public chargers, so that all communities can achieve the charging infrastructure they need.
They will work together to identify areas that have yet to install enough electric vehicle chargers and would benefit from improved air quality. These areas are likely to be in towns, with denser populations and less off-street parking. Charge Collective will help assess how much of a discount to connect to the electricity network is required to encourage charge point installers to invest in areas where the market is struggling to deliver today. It will be a model that could be scaled up across the country if successful.
The scheme will also develop a framework to measure the wider environmental and social benefits of better air quality and reduced emissions that come with more people driving EVs.
Ian Cameron, head of customer services and innovation at UK Power Networks said: “This project is going to help us discover how we can support our communities to get more charge points into areas that need them at the lowest cost to consumers, ensuring that nobody is left behind.”
Local authorities in London, the East and South East of England that would like to find out more about the project can email [email protected]
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