Solving the infrastructure challenge is one of the final pieces of the electric vehicles puzzle, said Dan Hutson, head of motor insurance with comparethemarket.com.
Ofgem’s focus on building capacity for 11 million electric cars in the UK will be welcome news to many who want an electric car but are concerned about the volume of charging points.
He said, “Improving the electrical infrastructure is essential to increasing the number of charging points. Charging points have been identified as one of the main deterrents for more people buying electric cars, with 53% saying they would be concerned about where to charge their electric vehicles, according to our research.
“Capacity, which Ofgem is tackling, is the first step in addressing this but there still needs to be a significant increase in the volume of charging points before we see broader take up and our electric dreams are realised.”
He was speaking after Ofgem set out its proposals to rewire Britain at a local level to deliver a greener and fairer energy system for British consumers with better home and community charging points, subject to an extensive review of the network.
Electricity distribution networks, which transport electricity locally to Britain’s homes and businesses, have a crucial role in eliminating harmful carbon emissions from GB’s energy sector in line with Government targets. (2) As Britain moves to greener forms of heating and transport, and more households and businesses produce their own local clean energy (3), local networks will have to expand their role and capacity to manage new sources of demand and an increase in electricity flowing through the grid. (4)
Ofgem is now consulting on the methodology for the next price control for the local electricity networks, which runs for five years from 2023.
This follows on the suggested price controls for the gas and electricity transmission and gas distribution operators.
Ofgem’s proposals aim to unlock the investment needed to ensure the local electricity networks can drive forward green energy and transport for GB.
This will help deliver the capacity and charging infrastructure needed to support a projected 11 million extra electric vehicles on our roads by 2030, as well as the infrastructure needed to deliver clean heat to GB’s homes and businesses and help connect the increase in renewable energy being produced locally.
This includes proposals to help companies speedily and reliably upgrade the network in anticipation of forecasted increases in local demand for electricity.