Government insists grid can cope with EV charger mandate

The government has insisted that the grid will be able to cope with the increased demand from electric vehicle (EV) chargers following Boris Johnson’s announcement that they will be mandated in new and converted buildings.

The new regulations were revealed by the prime minister in his widely criticised keynote speech at the CBI’s annual conference on Monday (22 November).

In the foreword to a paper setting out the proposals, transport secretary Grant Shapps estimated that the new building regulations will result in the roll out of 145,000 EV chargers per year.

The regulations will require that each new dwelling with its own parking space must have at least one EV charger unless their installation leads to grid connection costs of more than £3,600. This rule will also apply to new residential properties with more than 10 parking spaces.

Residential properties undergoing a major renovation and non-residential buildings being converted into flats will likewise be required to have at least one EV chargers for each dwelling with a parking space, although an exemption will apply if the existing power supply is insufficient to install all of the chargers.

For new residential properties with more than 10 parking spaces or undergoing a major renovation, there will also need to be cable routes for all parking spaces without a charger.

New non-residential developments, like cinemas and shopping centres, will be expected to furnish one EV charge point for every five parking spaces provided if the latter figure is more than ten.

The document stated that the new requirements mean the “majority” of new homes, where it said around 80% of EV charging already takes place, will have a charge point and that infrastructure will also be available at destinations such as shops and workplaces.

In relation to network capacity, the Department for Transport paper said the government is “confident” that the grid will be able to cope with increased demand from electric vehicles.

It also said that developers will be expected to consider “agile solutions” to network capacity issues, such as introducing battery storage on housing sites or load management systems.

They will be expected to work “closely” with network operators to ensure the EV charge point requirements can be met in all but “exceptional circumstances’”.

The need for costly network reinforcement will be reduced by legislation, due to be brought forward before the end of this year, to mandate that all private charge points must be smart devices, according to the paper.

It said charge points installed as a result of the new regulations should have a minimum charging power of 7kW.

Responding to the prime minister’s announcement, Ross Easton, director of external affairs at Energy Networks Association said: “This is great news for those living in new homes, but we must make sure access to charging points is not exclusive – charging points must be accessible to everyone.

“To truly ‘level up’ charging point access and deliver on the COP26 electric vehicle pledges requires strategic planning at all levels of government, nationally and locally.