Government urged to ‘go Dutch’ on EV charging network

Government should work with industry to coordinate the creation of a universal electric vehicle (EV) charge network, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has said.

In its Accelerating a Green Recovery plan, published today (20 July), SSEN outlines 10 key proposals it believes will help accelerate a green recovery and empower people to make the switch to EVs, including the universal provision of charge points, which it believes could create the most extensive EV network in the world by 2025.

They include bringing forward the ban on petrol and diesel vehicles to 2030 and implementing common standards to support charge point interoperability – allowing any EVs to be plugged into any chargers.

The network operator said that in England, 78 per cent of owner occupier households have access to off-street parking and will be able to access low cost EV charging with time of use tariffs at home, but this only includes 50 per cent of the private-rented sector and just 25 per cent of local authority housing.

SSEN says the universal provision of charge points can be secured through electricity networks working with local authorities on “area-wide tenders”. This will support a cost-effective transition to a system that provides access to EV charging capability to communities without access to off-street parking and in locations where local businesses are reliant on footfall like town centres and seasonal tourist areas.

The network operator cites how the Netherlands has already implemented a successful area-wide tender process for a network of public EV charge points. The process resulted in 20,000 public EV charge points being contracted across an area covering 3.2 million people. In comparison, the UK had just 32,000 public EV charge points for a population of 67 million people as of June 2020.

SSEN is calling on the UK government to replicate the Dutch model to accelerate the provision of EV charging infrastructure in a “fair and cost-effective way”.

There are also calls for network operators, local authorities and communities to work together to implement local area energy plans (LAEPs) as part of a “bottom up” approach to local network development.

SSEN believes the creation of gigafactories, large factories capable of producing significant quantities of batteries, will be critical in accelerating EV demand internationally, while supporting the growth of green jobs in the UK.

The network operator argues that 89 per cent of jobs and the value in the UK automotive industry are directly transferable to, or already invested in, EV production and it is estimated that stronger policy could boost employment in the sector from 170,000 today to 220,000 by 2040.

In a foreword to the report SSEN’s ED2 director Andrew Roper said the policy recommendations highlighted the “significant opportunities” that the shift to EVs presents.

He added: “Customers rightly expect the electricity networks that serve them to be ready to support their decarbonisation ambitions. SSEN strongly supports the principle of universal service provision of EV charging infrastructure, and that individuals should be encouraged to transition to EVs, and not inhibited by their location.

“The call for the world’s most extensive EV charging network by 2025 is to secure and spread EV opportunities across the UK, in a cost-effective manner.”

Meanwhile Colin Nicol, SSEN’s managing director, said: “SSEN stands ready to support and accelerate the green recovery. Delivering charge points in communities across the UK will support green jobs and spread investment.

“Local authorities should be empowered on this journey. We want to unlock and enable the communities we serve to realise their net zero ambitions. Local Area Energy Plans, will allow targeted investment, avoiding unnecessary cost and disruption in the transition to net zero.”

“Universal access to EV charge points is critical to a fair transition. With the right policies the UK could have the world’s most extensive EV charging network by 2025, and ensure no one is left behind.”