New public charging legislation a significant step forward, says myenergi

Earlier this month, the Department for Transport announced new legislation mandating the availability of rapid public EV chargers.

As part of the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, all rapid chargers must be reliable for 99% of the time during each calendar year.

Aiming to increase EV uptake by tackling unreliability, improving convenience and simplifying charging transactions, the new rules will come into force across the UK in August. From this date, service providers will be required to publish data about the reliability of their equipment and make this insight available publicly.

Furthermore, payment for all charging transactions will be unified on a single, centralised app, while all public chargers that deliver upwards of 8kW must also offer a contactless payment option. Collectively, these measures aim to improve the public charging experience, as well as reduce barriers to adoption for new EV drivers.

Commenting on the announcement, Jordan Brompton, co-founder and CMO of myenergi, said: “While the transition to electrification continues to accelerate, legislation will prove pivotal to maintaining momentum. Data from Zap-Map suggests that there are now more than 44,000 public chargers operational across 25,521 UK locations (more than 20% of which are classified as either rapid or ultra-rapid), yet reliability is still proving a real concern.

“There’s nothing more frustrating than arriving with minimal charge to a point that isn’t working – especially when you’re in a rush or miles away from another location. At the same time, trying to navigate payment can be a real hassle, and pretty daunting as well if it’s late at night or you’re on your own.

“Putting stringent legislation behind availability and payment process should therefore be welcomed with open arms. As an industry, we need to make it easier and far more attractive for drivers to make the switch to electric – not give them more reasons to delay. Hopefully, moving forward, these barriers will fall quickly, just as they did with range anxiety.

“However, it’s also important for drivers looking to make the switch to know that of the vast majority of EV charging still takes place at home. Thanks to significant investment from across the domestic charging marketplace, there’s now a huge range of smart chargers that offer complete charging flexibility. Compared to public charging, you’re set to save a significant amount of money and, if you have renewable energy generation installed, you can effectively charge your car for free!”