In this round-up of news stories from the electric vehicle ecosystem, new research from Citizens Advice finds that a lack of transparency regarding EV tariffs is confusing consumers, and rapid chargers are on the rise.
Lack of EV tariff transparency is confusing EV owners, Citizens Advice says
A lack of transparency surrounding EV electricity tariffs is making it difficult for consumers to pick the best way to charge electric vehicles, new research from Citizens Advice has claimed.
The charity published research within a new report, dubbed Take Charge, that concludes that discounts on home chargers, free installation offers and discounts for public chargers make it hard for consumers to determine the actual cost of particular tariffs.
This, coupled with the lack of comparison tools tailored for EV drivers on existing price comparison sites, has led to confusion in the marketplace.
The research also found that tariffs varied widely owing to suppliers and the type of meter consumers had installed at their home, with annual costs varying from £811 to £1,442.
This level of variability hinged on the ability of a consumer to charge during Economy 7 tariff times at night, with those able to estimated to pay somewhere between £811 and £938, instead of the £1,298 – £1,442 range found on single rate tariffs.
Gillian Guy, chief executive at Citizens Advice, said that it was crucial that consumers are able to make informed choices as the EV tariff market expands.
“It’s important to have genuine choice between competing tariffs. That means there needs to be transparency of costs and that suppliers properly support this growing group of consumers.”
Phoenix Works to install rapid charger clusters throughout North East
Renewables installer The Phoenix Works is to install six rapid EV charging clusters throughout the North East after winning a local tender.
The North East Combined Authority tendered for the installs at Cramlington, Gateshead (two sites), Gosforth, Hexham and Tynemouth, and each of the locations is to receive two 50kW chargers.
The installations are to be funded by NECA in collaboration with the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and the European Regional Development Fund, while the charging infrastructure is to be managed and serviced by Electric Blue.
Alfa Power charges up two rapid chargers
EV charge point operator Alfa Power has installed two new rapid chargers in Rutland and Lincolnshire.
One 40kW charger has been installed at Ponton Main Service Station in Lincolnshire, however the company said it was “working around the clock” to find a solution to increase its capacity to 60kW, and could even look to increase the power further through subsequent grid reinforcements.
Meanwhile, a 22kW charger has been installed at The Noel at Whitwell, a country pub and B&B in Oakham, Rutland more than trebling the speed of the quickest nearby publicly-accessible charger (7kW).
Pan-European EV car sharing scheme launches in Solihull
A multi-million-euro, pan-European EV sharing scheme has launched its first demonstration site in Solihull, aiming to bring the benefits of electric vehicles to wider communities.
The InclusivEV Demonstrator, led by Cenex, has introduced a fleet of 18 Renault ZOEs, operated by char sharing scheme E-Car Club in conjunction with Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Solihull Community Housing.
These electric vehicles can be hired from as little as £3.50 per hour and the project is intended to test business cases ahead of future adoption of EV car sharing schemes.
Solihull is to be followed by Modena, Italy, and Valencia, Spain.
