The number of public electric vehicle (EV) charging points in Brighton and Hove is set to dramatically increase, thanks to a successful funding bid.
A £2.8 million government grant will allow 500 EV charging points to be installed every year for the next three years.
New contracts, to be awarded in 2025, will also offer more choice and flexible tariffs, including off-peak rates and access to more than 2,000 charging points.
Councillor Trevor Muten, cabinet member for transport, said: “The dramatic increase in the number of public locations will help give residents confidence they can use a charging point close to where they live.
“Scaling up also offers new opportunities to introduce flexible and off-peak tariffs to make it cost effective for residents to charge their electric vehicles in the city.
“Providing clean, affordable and low carbon energy for transport is essential to achieve net zero in the city. We’re using the evidence presented in our energy study to increase the pace and provide the right infrastructure.”
Over the last five years, the council has used grants to target areas where residents have no off-street access to charge their vehicle. From the new year the city will have just over 500 on-street charge points.
On-street charging infrastructure in the city already has the best coverage outside of London and 83% of residents with no off-street parking live within a five-minute walk of a public charging point.
Recently the council installed 100 new lamp column charging points and a further 12 sites are now being prepared to accommodate 37 new dedicated EV charging bays.
Time for your Electroconvulsive therapy patient Trevor.
It’s a limiting factor, not having charging points, to be sure. Hopefully the cost of recharging reduces as well, cause at the moment, it is about the same as fuel.
Public chargers are currently more expensive than a small petrol or diesel engine. If you have a driveway you are quids in as you can use domestic electricity. Better still if you have some solar panels. But for the rest of us it is not a smart move yet.
It’s a smart move to reduce pollution because it causes premature deaths and worsens climate change.
Yes – on your doorstep. But not in Africa and China.
Nothing green about lithium. When we have hydrogen that’s made using surplus power in the grid, maybe. But until then I won’t be part of the trend that destroys africa and making clowns like musk filthy rich.
What happens if they all get used at the same time ? Do the lights go out ? Infrastructure is important.
Great news someone I know who regularly visits Brighton went back to an ICE vehicle due to the lack of chargers in Brighton