The UK Government has revealed details of the Workplace Charging Scheme, which will offer a grant of £300 per socket for companies to install EV charge points.
The scheme will go live on Monday 21st November, with any business, charity or public authority eligible to claim the grant towards the cost of installing charge points, as long as they have dedicated off-street parking for staff or fleet use.
Installation will have to be carried out by an approved OLEV installer, just like the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS). Companies can claim the £300 for each socket, up to a maximum of 20 sockets.
Unlike the EVHS, there is no need for the company to have a plug-in vehicle on its books, but a need must be declared on application. That can include plans to add plug-in vehicles to the company’s fleet, or as an incentive to encourage uptake of plug-in vehicles amongst staff.
The grant can only be claimed for new charge points yet to be installed, with no option to back-claim the amount against existing units. Also, three-pin sockets are not eligible for the grant.
Companies can claim the grant in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, but not in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man.
Chargemaster Chief Executive David Martell said: “This is great news for companies that have adopted EVs into their fleets, or wish to provide charging facilities for visitors. There are now more than 80,000 electric vehicles on British roads – many of those are owned and run by businesses. This new £600 grant (for dual charging points) from government will allow more companies to install charging points at workplace locations for a fraction of the cost.
“So far, we have installed over 30,000 home charging points over the last four years. I think that this new government support will stimulate the demand from companies and help them adopt ultra-low emission vehicles with charging facilities at the workplace.”
Find out more about the Workplace Charging Scheme at Zap-Map’s Charging at Work page.