Residents will soon have access to over 100 on street electric charge points outside homes following the council successfully winning a grant for over £200,000 from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).
Residents will soon have access to over 100 on street electric charge points outside homes following the council successfully winning a grant for over £200,000 from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).
The city already has 36 on-street charge points and the grant along with council funding will hopefully see an additional 79 chargepoints in locations following requests from residents. Once suitable locations have been confirmed, residents in the street will be written to, informing them of the exact location of the bay.
Portsmouth City Council was the first in the UK to develop a solution that provides residents with a safe way to charge electric vehicles outside their homes. This combines electric vehicle charging points inside street lamp columns, a marked parking bay and flexible payment options. ubitricity provide the electric vehicle charging points and if the street lamp column is located away from the kerb, an innovative charging bollard is used. The marked bays can only be used by vehicles that are charging and there are a number of tariff options dependent on the users preferred way of paying - this includes pay as you go.
Transport Minister Rachel Maclean said: “Electric cars are quickly becoming the new normal, with one registered every 15 minutes in the UK.
“It’s great to see Portsmouth City Council taking advantage of the £10m government support for on-street chargepoints and embracing the electric vehicle revolution, so that residents can benefit from cleaner, greener transport.
“Our £400m chargepoint co-investment fund will provide faster chargepoints for people across the country.”
Cllr Lynne Stagg, Cabinet Member for Transport and Transportation said, "I am delighted that we have won funding to extend our electric charge point scheme so that residents can easily access electric fuel for their vehicles. I hope this will result in us seeing even more electric cars in Portsmouth that are much cleaner for our air. "
Daniel Bentham, Managing Director, ubitricity said "Portsmouth City Council’s expansion of charging points is good news for drivers and for reducing the UK’s carbon emissions because ubitricity charging points are powered by renewable energy.
"More electric cars plugged into the grid for more hours is what the UK needs to enable a smart energy system that is even more renewable-friendly."
Information on the postcode locations of the planned points and information on current points, and how to use them can be found at www.portsmouth.gov.uk and search "electric vehicle charge points".
