Legislation introducing new rules regarding EV and charge points seems to be announced on a fairly frequent basis. As a result, it can be hard to keep up to date, especially when the legislation introduced doesn’t come with a manual explaining the finer points, so they are up to some interpretation.
Back in November 2020, a new legislation regarding EV chargers at new buildings and buildings undergoing major renovations was published. This was a huge step forward for EV infrastructure, but this change could end up costing some businesses tens of thousands of pounds they haven’t expected to spend.
This piece of legislation was introduced to future-proof new build housing, lower the cost of buying an EV for the end-user and to ensure businesses are installing EV charge points to support charging away from home.
The legislations explains that:
From a business perspective, the main update is the fact that if you are planning on building new business premises or revamping an old one, EV charge points and infrastructure is a requirement . It’s an additional expense that you may not have factored into your budget and the world of EV charging can be overwhelming when you first glance at it.
However, these changes don’t need to come at a huge cost. Charge points can be installed while other electrical work is taking place, and the car park, and specific EV charging spaces can be designed around your premises.
Furthermore, some of these changes qualify for grant funding, so smaller businesses won’t have to shoulder this cost alone. For bigger property developers it poses the important question of who will pay for these charge points. If the cost is added to the total cost of the house, home buyers might not be happy to spend that money on an EV charge point they may never use but now must maintain.
Each government in the UK creates its own policies about electric vehicles, therefore, this change is only relevant in England.
The government needs to help guide the EV industry to double the amount of electric vehicle charge points year on year, this is a big ask for a relatively new and small sector. To expedite this change, the government introduced new legislation in Autumn 2021.
This legislation, put out by the Department of Transport, ‘The Electric Vehicle (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021’ explains all the changes in fine detail, it also explains the reasons behind the changes.
We will keep you updated on changes as they happen, and we always strive to provide our customers with the best advice and guidance, so you are in safe hands.
If you want guidance on the new legislation changes or see if you are eligible for any grant funding, get in touch with our team who will be happy to answer any questions.
3d architecture photo created by kjpargeter – www.freepik.com
Building construction photo created by freepik – www.freepik.com
