NEW regulations aimed at making rapid DV chargers 99% reliable have been introduced by the Government, tackling areas such as payment and pricing.

The new legislation includes the requirement for new public chargepoints to incorporate contactless payment within one year from the date of the regulations coming into force. Existing chargepoints will also need to introduce contactless payment within one year of the legislation’s introduction.

This reduces the need for EV drivers to download apps and will enable greater accessibility for many. It may help increase EV adoption amongst drivers and support the scaling of the EV industry within the UK.

The legislation also aims to introduce payment roaming to reduce the number of apps, pricing transparency and open chargepoint data including live availability data.

Edmund King, AA president, said: “This is a welcome step and are pleased that the government has listened to our requests to create more confidence when charging away from home. A 99% reliability requirement and live chargepoint information will help show drivers in real-time the benefits of driving electric.

“For three years we have helped several chargepoint providers with our EV Support Service. By providing 24-hour telephone assistance for drivers at a chargepoint, we can help get them back on the road again.”

The new rules, currently in draft form, set a minimum standard for public charge reliability of 99%, putting an emphasis on providers to ensure that units are durable and capable of constant use. At the same time, all chargers will be required to produce real-time data on their status, offering greater information to potential users.

Charging companies could be fined up to £10,000 for each unit that fails to comply with the requirements.

Speaking earlier at Logistics UK’s Next Generation Van conference, Shadow Minister for Business and Industrial Strategy, Bill Esterson, said the government must provide the infrastructure that the logistics sector needs to deliver for the future.

He said, “Labour’s Industrial Strategy will create stability for logistics businesses and ensure the UK is self-sufficient in cheap, renewable electricity. Labour will ensure that charging infrastructure is widely available, that depots can connect to the grid and that incentives are available so that it makes sense to transition to electric. We will be partners with industry to develop and implement the plans needed to meet the challenge of decarbonisation.” 

 Denise Beedell, Senior Policy Manager, at Logistics UK added: “Van operators and businesses are keen to decarbonise and make a smooth transition to EVs but continue to face barriers with significant costs for increasing adequate power supplies and installing the required charging infrastructure at their depots. They also need to have confidence that the public chargepoint network will be able to accommodate their electric vehicles.

“Bays at public electric vehicle charging points are often too small to accommodate commercial vehicles, or are unavailable because they are in use or are broken. The pace of the roll out of suitable public charging infrastructure must be accelerated and appropriate fiscal measure are put in place to support our industry in meeting decarbonise deadlines to ensure our sector can continue to deliver all that the economy requires.”