Bill gives mayors charging power

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

The mayor of London and the elected mayors of combined authorities could be given the power to order large fuel retailers and motorway service operators to provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure on their premises.

The Government’s  Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill gives the secretary of state for transport the power to make regulations requiring large fuel retailers and service area operators to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure. 

The Government has now tabled an amendment to the Bill in the House of Lords giving the mayor of London and ‘Metro Mayors’ (elected mayors of combined authority areas) the same power. 

A mayor would have to consult on a proposal, and then  request the secretary of state to make the necessary regulations. 

The Government has also tabled an amendment giving the secretary of state the power to prescribe standards for the performance and reliability of public charging points. Regulations would set standards of performance, such as the number of hours a public charging point can be left in non-working order or the frequency for checking public charging points. 

Says the Government: “Evidence cited by the RAC Foundation suggests that around one in eight public chargepoints can be inactive at a given time in the UK. There is a risk that, when public charging points are installed and usage is low, operators are less likely to repair them. However, as the market develops and payment for charging becomes the norm, this is likely to lead to improved reliability as operators will wish to entice users onto their network. 

“We will need to examine how public charging point reliability develops in order to determine whether it would be appropriate to make regulations.”