Electric vehicle chargers to become compulsory in new homes in England
With a ban on new petrol cars less than a decade away, England must expand its charging infrastructure network by almost 2000 per cent.
Electric vehicle chargers are set to become compulsory in every new home and office built in England.
Legislation tendered this week by the sitting government will require 'smart' chargers – which take advantage of off-peak periods of electricity production – to be installed in all new buildings with parking spaces, as part of a wider push to ease pressure on existing public infrastructure.
A spokesperson for MP Rachel Maclean – who announced the bill – told Drive: “We plan to support people to charge their cars at home by ensuring new homes are electric vehicle ready. We have consulted on plans to introduce a requirement for every new home to have a charge point, where there is an associated car parking space … We aim to lay regulation in Parliament in 2021.
“This would make England the first country to introduce mandatory charge points in new homes, cementing its position as a global leader in the race to net zero emissions.
“Already, we’re investing £2.8 billion [$AU5.26 billion] in helping industry and drivers make the switch – and will continue our work to install thousands of charge points and boost the development of new technologies to meet our goals.
”The United Kingdom – which has vowed to ban the sale of new petrol-only, non-hybrid cars in 2030, and hybrids in 2035 – currently has approximately 25,600 public charging points.
However, that figure will need to increase almost twenty-fold (to 480,000) before the end of the decade to accommodate for projected electric vehicle uptake, according to a new report from the nation’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The legislation is likely to pass through both houses of parliament, however could be amended during a consultation phase. It will not impact Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, nor will it be retrospective, meaning existing homes won’t need to be retrofitted.
