Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of poor phone connectivity in towns and villages on allowing consumers to access cheap overnight rates for charging electric vehicles; and what steps she is taking to increase the number of households with access to cheap overnight tariffs.

The Government is working closely with the Data Communications Company and energy suppliers to ensure smart meter connectivity can be extended to currently unserved premises in all regions as soon as reasonably possible. Multiple solutions are being deployed, including 4G cellular communications and Virtual WAN, which involves using customers’ broadband connection (with consent) to carry smart metering communications.

This will ensure as many households as possible can access time-of-use tariffs which can offer cheaper rates.