Nearly 3000 EV charging points added to South East in last 12 months
The number of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points added to the network in London, the East and South East, has increased by nearly 2,700 in the past 12 months, UK Power Networks has revealed today.
The new findings have been released in the run-up to National Drive Electric Week (September 25-October 23) when many people will be considering when to switch to an EV to cut their carbon footprint. There are now over 9,000 charge points in London, the East and South East, served by UK Power Networks.
As the company responsible for maintaining the region’s power network, it’s UK Power Networks’ job to ensure the local grid is ready for the connection of new charging points. It estimates there will be 4.5 million EVs in the areas it serves by 2030, when sales of new petrol and diesel cars are banned as the UK strives to meet Net Zero by 2050.
Forty per cent of all charge points in Great Britain are connected to UK Power Networks’ local grids, almost double the volume of any other network operator, it claims.
Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders adds that approximately one in six vehicles (17%) sold in June were electric – the highest market share since December (23.4%). There are now about 594,000 EVs in the UK.
Says Shira Lappin, innovation project lead at UK Power Networks:
“It’s important that we work with local and central government, charge point operators, customers and other stakeholders to ensure that the transition to Net Zero is a seamless one and everyone has access to the charging infrastructure they need”.
“In the 12-month period between April 2020 and April this year, the number of charge points in our areas grew by 42%. However, there’s still a lot of work to do to meet the growing demand for EVs and charge points, and we’ll continue to be at the forefront of innovation to get there.”
