As part of last week’s Queen’s Speech, the government announced the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill. The bill could have significant implications for the future of electric and self-driving vehicles, as well as for the UK’s position as what the government terms a “world leader in new industries.”
The draft legislation states that Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points must be made available at all large fuel retailers and motorway services. For some consumers, issues with how the existing infrastructure is run mean that such a change can’t come soon enough. Ecotricity, the company created by entrepreneur Dale Vince, has a near monopoly on rapid-charging points at the UK’s motorway services. It has recently increased the cost of using them, causing consternation among some of its customers.
Consumers crying foul
Gone are the company’s halcyon days of offering free charging to encourage consumer uptake of EVs. Gone too is the subsequent rollout of a £6 flat fee for 20 minutes of charge. Now, pricing has been hiked again, with a new £3 connection fee plus 17p per electricity unit thereafter. It means that charging a Nissan Leaf will rise to £7.08, according to the online charging point consumer guide, ZapMap.
In fact the RAC Foundation claims that as a whole, the cost of running a Nissan Leaf is now on-par with that of running an efficient petrol-powered car. This has serious implications for the technology’s future. Steve Gooding, the RAC Foundation’s director, comments,
“For people buying new cars, price dominates: the price of the vehicle and the price you pay to keep it on the road. Relatively small changes to either could badly stunt the fledgling industry’s growth.”
Ecotricity claims that the new tariff reflects the “cost of installing and operating the equipment from the cost of the energy – to provide greater transparency and flexibility to our members,” and that “it’s always going to be more expensive to charge on the open road because the infrastructure must be built and maintained.”
#DoKeepUp, Mrs May
It is clear that Ecotricity’s Dale Vince isn’t convinced by the government’s plans for the compulsory installation of charging points at motorway services. Hashtagging with #DoKeepUp, he wrote,
“Promising to do something that’s already been done, by somebody else, several years ago – bit bizarre really. Motorway services will be required to install electric charge points, under plans outlined in the Queen’s Speech. There aren’t actually any motorway services that don’t already have charging facilities for EVs.”
While Ecotricity faces off against consumer criticism and a potential competitive threat from the state, the hope for consumers is that if the right funding and rollout strategy is put in place for the charging points, then more competition could be introduced. As successive governments have drummed into us over the years, competition should mean lower prices for the consumer. That can only be a good thing for those wanting to make the move from petrol power to electricity in the future.
Do you believe the Government’s plan for mandatory charging points at petrol stations and motorway services is the right policy? Let us know your opinions below.
charging points at petrol stations ? Where do you wait while the car charges ? Petrol stations to provide rest rooms with food drink wifi etc.?
Would you provide a rest room with all your requested pampering services for about 20p that the filling station will get out of it? Most of the charge will go to the Electricity supplier, and then a commission to the guy who has arranged the installation.
“charging points at petrol stations ? Where do you wait while the car charges ? Petrol stations to provide rest rooms with food drink wifi etc.?”
Makes sense to me. I can also refuel a diesel or LPG car at a petrol station (perhaps that’s why the term ‘filling station’ is far more accurate), so why not electric?
I would do the same in the filling station while recharging as I did in our Leaf when recharging at the services. Sit in the car, listen to music, and play on my phone or read a book. I’ve not made use of the charging facilities anywhere yet in my current plug in hybrid, but no doubt I will at some stage in the future..
You do realise it only takes a max of 20 mins to charge a Nissan Leaf to 80%, don’t you?… It’s not like people are going to have to camp out at the filling station for 8 hours…
Peter Butler, switch on the car’s radio and relax. Or listen to your children play I spy a car beginning with letter “R”, Red car, Rolls Royce, (double R) Reliant Robin (also double R but in a different class) , Rover, Renault, Etc. Or if you are in Tesco’s car park at Coulby Newham (Middlesbrough) nip next door to Aldi store and buy some bargains. It is only 20 minutes. Why do you want pampering with a rest room?
Seems like the idea misses a key difference of EVs.
Fuel stations are necessary because it’s difficult/inconvenient/expensive to have your own petrol/diesel facilities at home – it needs to be centralised, which leads to the existence of fuel stations, competition, and sites like this.
The biggest usage of cars is commuting, and so EVs are no different. This gives them the ability to charge at night, at home, when we’re not using them. Charging at home is sufficient for most use cases for most EV owners.
Where this doesn’t work is longer journeys – holidays, visiting relatives, etc. For this, motorway service areas already provide charging points like Tesla Superchargers or Ecotricity chargers mentioned in the article. Many places (shopping centres, large office buildings) also offer so-called ‘destination’ chargers, again proving the point that EVs don’t need fuel stations.
I’m aware that I’ve made generalisations here, but my opinion is that home & destination charging, supplemented by fast charging en-route (ie. locations like motorway services) are a better match for EV usage where we are fortunate to live in a country where electricity is everywhere.
My cynical self would wonder at the underlying reasons for trying to promote future technology in fuel stations that will no longer match the usage patterns. It’s not like big oil companies have large pots of money to throw around..!?
But where is the electricity to charge these cars going to come from once all the currently active power stations are shut down in favour of so-called renewables like Wind Turbines?
One has to queue to use a liquid fuel pump. How will it be when one has to queue for electrical top ups which take more than 20 minutes!!!
Whoop de woo, it only takes 20 minutes to 80% re-charge a Nissan leaf, its’ not like people have to camp out for 8 hours says Candice Prowting. Just to clarify Candice, you only need to be 4th in the queue and there is nearly 1.5 hours added to your journey, fancy doing that on a bank holiday with 3 kids in the car?????
That would be good. A wee while back, a couple came to Skye. They charged up at Fort William and made it to Kyle of Lochalsh (pretty good considering the hills) only to find the charger wasn’t working. They then drove to Broadford, on Skye, to find that that wasn’t working. They went to their B&B in Kylerhea at which point the battery was flat. Not a good first experience with electric cars.
Anyway, I have to drive from Skye to Malvern: 500 miles, 10 hours. How many times would I have to recharge and how long would they take? I think electric is great for cities, but for long distance?
So how much extra space will be required for the Queues of cars waiting to be charged? Or are the ‘fueled’ vehicles going to be prevented from filling up by self righteous EV users blocking the pumps. In Sunderland an electric car club have sole use of what was a drop off point parking space at Park Lane bus station. There is often a ‘Club Car parked there for hours and no one else is allowed to use the charging point. This means ALL other drivers have less access to drop off bus and Metro passengers. This demonstrates the holier than though EV drivers attitude.
I am not sure that filling stations are the best places to charge electric cars’ batteries, except for motorway service areas.
Country hotels, leisure centres, parks and out-of-town hypermarkets would be more appropriate, because the occupants’ time can be spent more usefully on shopping, exercising or quality eating and drinking, rather than just killing time and buying and/or eating the junk food and drink that most filling stations peddle.
In city centres, multi-storey car parks are an obvious choice, because filling stations would not have the space for vehicles requiring prolonged charging.
Frequent 20-minute fast charges will wreck the battery much more quickly than slower ones that take an hour or two whilst eating a leisurely meal.
‘Filling Stations’. why not Hydrogen a refuelling point? quick refuel and uses existing car engines. Far more practical than creating a whole new technology AKA Tesla Megafactory.
charging points at petrol stations ? Where do you wait while the car charges ? Petrol stations to provide rest rooms with food drink wifi etc.?
Would you provide a rest room with all your requested pampering services for about 20p that the filling station will get out of it? Most of the charge will go to the Electricity supplier, and then a commission to the guy who has arranged the installation.
“charging points at petrol stations ? Where do you wait while the car charges ? Petrol stations to provide rest rooms with food drink wifi etc.?”
Makes sense to me. I can also refuel a diesel or LPG car at a petrol station (perhaps that’s why the term ‘filling station’ is far more accurate), so why not electric?
I would do the same in the filling station while recharging as I did in our Leaf when recharging at the services. Sit in the car, listen to music, and play on my phone or read a book. I’ve not made use of the charging facilities anywhere yet in my current plug in hybrid, but no doubt I will at some stage in the future..
You do realise it only takes a max of 20 mins to charge a Nissan Leaf to 80%, don’t you?… It’s not like people are going to have to camp out at the filling station for 8 hours…
Peter Butler, switch on the car’s radio and relax. Or listen to your children play I spy a car beginning with letter “R”, Red car, Rolls Royce, (double R) Reliant Robin (also double R but in a different class) , Rover, Renault, Etc. Or if you are in Tesco’s car park at Coulby Newham (Middlesbrough) nip next door to Aldi store and buy some bargains. It is only 20 minutes. Why do you want pampering with a rest room?
Seems like the idea misses a key difference of EVs.
Fuel stations are necessary because it’s difficult/inconvenient/expensive to have your own petrol/diesel facilities at home – it needs to be centralised, which leads to the existence of fuel stations, competition, and sites like this.
The biggest usage of cars is commuting, and so EVs are no different. This gives them the ability to charge at night, at home, when we’re not using them. Charging at home is sufficient for most use cases for most EV owners.
Where this doesn’t work is longer journeys – holidays, visiting relatives, etc. For this, motorway service areas already provide charging points like Tesla Superchargers or Ecotricity chargers mentioned in the article. Many places (shopping centres, large office buildings) also offer so-called ‘destination’ chargers, again proving the point that EVs don’t need fuel stations.
I’m aware that I’ve made generalisations here, but my opinion is that home & destination charging, supplemented by fast charging en-route (ie. locations like motorway services) are a better match for EV usage where we are fortunate to live in a country where electricity is everywhere.
My cynical self would wonder at the underlying reasons for trying to promote future technology in fuel stations that will no longer match the usage patterns. It’s not like big oil companies have large pots of money to throw around..!?
But where is the electricity to charge these cars going to come from once all the currently active power stations are shut down in favour of so-called renewables like Wind Turbines?
One has to queue to use a liquid fuel pump. How will it be when one has to queue for electrical top ups which take more than 20 minutes!!!
Whoop de woo, it only takes 20 minutes to 80% re-charge a Nissan leaf, its’ not like people have to camp out for 8 hours says Candice Prowting. Just to clarify Candice, you only need to be 4th in the queue and there is nearly 1.5 hours added to your journey, fancy doing that on a bank holiday with 3 kids in the car?????
That would be good. A wee while back, a couple came to Skye. They charged up at Fort William and made it to Kyle of Lochalsh (pretty good considering the hills) only to find the charger wasn’t working. They then drove to Broadford, on Skye, to find that that wasn’t working. They went to their B&B in Kylerhea at which point the battery was flat. Not a good first experience with electric cars.
Anyway, I have to drive from Skye to Malvern: 500 miles, 10 hours. How many times would I have to recharge and how long would they take? I think electric is great for cities, but for long distance?
So how much extra space will be required for the Queues of cars waiting to be charged? Or are the ‘fueled’ vehicles going to be prevented from filling up by self righteous EV users blocking the pumps. In Sunderland an electric car club have sole use of what was a drop off point parking space at Park Lane bus station. There is often a ‘Club Car parked there for hours and no one else is allowed to use the charging point. This means ALL other drivers have less access to drop off bus and Metro passengers. This demonstrates the holier than though EV drivers attitude.
I am not sure that filling stations are the best places to charge electric cars’ batteries, except for motorway service areas.
Country hotels, leisure centres, parks and out-of-town hypermarkets would be more appropriate, because the occupants’ time can be spent more usefully on shopping, exercising or quality eating and drinking, rather than just killing time and buying and/or eating the junk food and drink that most filling stations peddle.
In city centres, multi-storey car parks are an obvious choice, because filling stations would not have the space for vehicles requiring prolonged charging.
Frequent 20-minute fast charges will wreck the battery much more quickly than slower ones that take an hour or two whilst eating a leisurely meal.
‘Filling Stations’. why not Hydrogen a refuelling point? quick refuel and uses existing car engines. Far more practical than creating a whole new technology AKA Tesla Megafactory.