Reforms Aimed at Boosting EV Uptake Launched
Reforms are being introduced aimed at reducing the bureaucracy involved in connecting electric vehicles to the UK’s grid.
The reforms were announced by the Energy Networks Association (ENA), a body representing the country’s energy network operators. A statement from the group said the operators are aiming for the reforms to boost EV adoption by making “mass installations by charge point installers” easier.
It explained that they think the reforms will enable this through the charge point installation process being “standardized … for all types of properties”, both residential and commercial. This new “standardized” process also reforms the rules for connecting heat pumps to energy networks. The ENA is citing a recent House of Commons inquiry that found lack of charging infrastructure should not represent a barrier to EV adoption as evidence of the reforms’ necessity.
The group added that it plans more reforms in the near future, including the “digitalization” of the networking process and use of “facial recognition” technologies. ENA CEO David Smith said: “Smart technology and data are vital to ensuring that network companies run the system in a more efficient and capable way. But to do that we need to know where and when charge points and heat pumps are being installed”.
However, Ian Johnston, CEO of EV charger maker Engenie, claimed the reforms did not go far enough and accused the UK government of “failing to match its own rhetoric” on support for EVs. A Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) spokesperson pointed out that plug-in hybrid vehicles “still only represent a small proportion of the market”, adding that zero-emission vehicles would be unlikely to increase their market share without a raft “of incentives, including tax and other financial stimuli, policy support, and infrastructure”.
