UK councils are increasing investment in EV infrastructure by as much as 42% year on year, according to Freedom of Information (FOI) data released by Schneider Electric, an expert in the digital transformation of energy management and automation.
Despite this investment, the same focus is not placed on monitoring charger performance and reliability, potentially leaving EV owners in a situation where they are met with chargers that are out of service. As essential infrastructure for a successful shift to more EVs, building a resilient and reliable network of chargers is essential.
This comes as the UK works towards its target of having 100% of new cars and vans sold in Great Britain be zero emission by 2035, and EVs take more than a fifth of new car registrations.
However, the FOI data, which surveyed 67 councils across England, Scotland and Wales, also discovered that only 15% of councils could report that 100% of their EV chargers are operational. Over half (53.7%) are unable to monitor whether chargers are working or not. The lowest reported fully operational charger percentage was 2.8% working in the last six months.
Despite this the data does reveal that, as the UK gears up for a ban on ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles by 2030, there have been some developments. In fact:
• The number of public EV chargers increased by 140% between 2022 and 2023
• Of the 2,555 devices installed by councils, only 52 or 2.04% of devices are ultra rapid charging (over 100kW)
• The highest five-year investment amount was £8,000,000 by a single council. 40% of councils, however, have either spent nothing in that same time period, or were unable to provide the figure.
While the number of ultra rapid chargers remains low, it remains important to have smart medium and low voltage infrastructure within the network. A balanced mix of charging speed and the right infrastructure to support the EVs on site is essential. Proper assessments of the grid’s availability may reveal ultra rapid charging isn’t viable in that location.
David Hall, Schneider Electric UK & Ireland’s VP Power Systems, says, “Whilst there’s a positive story that councils are investing in their EV charger infrastructure to meet the growing demand, it is clear that many councils could greatly benefit from the ability to track EV charger performance, detect faults or outages, and even enable remote repairs. Without it, reliability is called into question, potentially leaving EV drivers in their areas stranded.
“Increasing awareness and education around remote monitoring systems would support local councils and EV charging providers, particularly at high-demand locations like motorway services or city/town centres, where usage will surge as EV adoption grows. Ideally, greater collaboration between charging providers and their suppliers – across both the public and private sectors – will help ensure a more reliable and seamless charging experience – both before install and after. Making sure councils have the right plan in place to plot the EV charging infrastructure will be essential for long term success.”
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