New homes and offices will need to have electric car chargers installed in them, under government plans that are being drafted.
The announcement follows news saying that the government is lagging behind in plans to get the country ready for an ‘electric era’. Industry bodies say that 700 electric car chargers will need to be installed at homes each day to meet demand, but currently only around 500 are being added each month.
This new legislation ordering the chargers to be fitted to new-build properties is billed to be the first of its kind in the world, with the home plug-in points also needing to be ‘smart’ units, which can be programmed to start charging at the times when there is less demand on the national grid, and meaning the grid won’t be overloaded by all cars charging at the exact same time.
Transport minister Rachel Maclean announced the plans to make it mandatory for new home builders to fit the chargers from next year in response to a question asked in the House of Commons yesterday, coincidentally on World EV Day.
From 2030, no new conventional petrol and diesel vans will be able to be sold, though hybrid models are set to be allowed for a further five years, before all models have to be zero-emission vehicles from 2035. Though electric cars are continuing to increase in popularity, they still only represent eight per cent of new vehicle registrations.
On September 9, the government also announced a new app that aims to provide practical tools and advice to drivers thinking about making the switch to electric.
