Electric car charging (Image: Getty)
Plans to ban new petrol-driven cars are threatened by a shortage of electric vehicle chargepoints, MPs have been warned.
The Government is committed to phasing-out of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.
But a Labour-dominated transport authority warned the UK is a long way from having enough electric vehicle chargepoints.
In a submission to MPs, Transport for the North said: “Whilst public charge points in the region have doubled over the last years, to around 15,600 (plugs) in September 2024, our forecast currently projects that between 178,000 and 240,000 are needed by 2030, a fifteenfold increase in only 6 years.”
And it warned that the Government’s current plan to ensure at least 300,000 chargepoints are in place nationwide by 2030 also falls far short of what’s needed.
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“Taking a national view, our forecast projects between 395,000 and 730,000 chargepoints (plugs) are needed by 2030,” the report to MPs said.
Transport for the North is the official transport authority for the north of England. It is not affiliated to any party but the board is made up of council leaders and mayors in the north who are overwhelmingly Labour politicians, including Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotherham.
The previous Conservative government extended the deadline for ending the sale of petrol vehicles to 2035, but Labour is to restore the cut-off to 2030.
Providing enough charging points is seen as vital in order to encourage drivers to make the switch to electric vehicles. Motorists in homes with driveways may be able to charge a vehicle at their property but others will be forced to use public chargepoints. In addition, there is a need to provide chargepoints at motorway service stations to ensure long-distance journeys are possible.
However there is concern is that infrastructure is not currently in place to provide enough electricity everywhere it will be needed.
Richard Bruce, the Department for Transport Director for Zero Emission Vehicles, told the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee that batteries are being installed at motorway service stations so that power can be stored during quiet hours to use charging vehicles in peak times.
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Another Department for Transport official, Jo Shanmugalingam, told MPs: “The planning system was not designed with chargepoint operators in mind. We are learning a lot in all aspects of this roll-out about how to adapt and work with the planning system to support chargepoint operators.”
Energy UK, the trade body representing energy suppliers, told the committee: “Energy UK cannot identify a clear, consistent, and transparent plan from the Government for addressing geographical disparities in electric vehicle charging provision.”