The Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has greed a deal to expand the number of lamppost EV charge points available to residents.
Working with energy suppliers OVO and charge point manufacturer Ubitricity, an additional 50 points will be installed in the London borough.
Having been trialled earlier this year in the area, the council has decided to increase the amount of lamppost-based EV charge points to create the largest network of its kind in London.
Pricing will come under one of two systems – either pay-as-you-go or subscription based. The first option s to pay £7.99 a month and be charged 15p/kWh for use, with the Ubitricity meter cable costing £199.
The second option is to buy the cable for £299, pay no subscription fee, and be charged 19p/kWh. The Ubitricity cable is essential since it is this that enables drivers to connect to the lamppost charge points.
Both options will also see a £1 connection fee for each charging session. There is also a £1 per hour fee for after the first 24 hours of being plugged-in to discourage charge points from being clogged up with already fully charged cars.
Installation of the new charge points will begin this month, with all new units expected to be operational by the end of January 2018.
Cllr Gerard Hargreaves, Kensington and Chelsea Council Lead Member for Transport, said: “There is growing demand for charging facilities and a growing number of electric vehicles in Kensington and Chelsea. Most residents do not have access to off-street parking to charge an electric vehicle.
“Retro-fitting street lamps with charging technology allows drivers to conveniently charge their vehicles closer to home, while helping to tackle air pollution in London. Lamp post charging is also more cost-effective and much less obtrusive as the charging points require no additional street furniture.”
Tom Pakenham, Head of Electric Vehicles, OVO said: “We’re delighted to support the expansion of this pioneering programme with Ubitricity and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council. With one million electric vehicles expected on the UK roads by 2022, it is important we continue to invest in technologies that solve the infrastructure challenges facing our cities.
“We want to remove barriers to electric vehicle adoption by providing innovative, simple and widely available urban charging solutions at a cost well below that of running a traditional car, and by giving people more control over their total energy usage.
“That’s also why we’ve aligned ourselves with the government’s Clean Growth Strategy, and will introduce a V2G (vehicle to grid) charger in 2018 that will enable drivers to sell energy to the grid from their electric vehicles – ultimately generating their own clean power.”
Ubitricity Founder Knut Hechtfischer said: “We’re proud to be delivering on this industry first, partnering with OVO to deliver more smart charging locations across London and provide more freedom for electric vehicle drivers.
“Ubitricity’s smart charging solution allows customers to use their energy supplier when charging, rather than billing being decided by the charge point. This puts customers in the drivers’ seat when choosing where their electricity comes from, including a hundred per cent renewable sources.”
