Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress his Department has made in implementing a standardised charging system for electric vehicles.

The Government recognises that it is vital that quick and easy payment is provided at rapid and high-powered chargers to make ad-hoc, longer journeys fast and hassle free. In 2017, the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulations included requirements that infrastructure operators had to provide ad-hoc access to public chargepoints and specified which types of connectors had to be provided as a minimum for normal and high powered chargepoints. Last year, the Government took further powers through in the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act (AEVA) to set a direction for the infrastructure market. The Act gives the Secretary of State for Transport powers to regulate technical standards of infrastructure to ensure easy compatibility with vehicles, to ensure availability of data on chargepoint locations and availability, and to require provision at motorway service areas and large fuel retailers. To improve customers’ experience of using chargepoints, the Government announced in July 2019 that it wants to see all new rapid and higher powered chargepoints provide debit or credit card payment by spring 2020. We expect the market to respond, and follow the lead of those chargepoint operators, including BP Chargemaster, the largest chargepoint operator in the UK, who have already made a commitment that they will now be providing this facility at their chargepoints. If there is insufficient progress we consider using the powers available in the Act.

The Government is committed to ensuring that more chargepoints are made available, which is why the £400m Chargepoint Infrastructure Investment Fund was announced at the Autumn budget in 2017.