Andy Burnham will oversee his second EV rule change of the month with updates for motorists without driveways coming in days
Andy Burnham will oversee new changes from October 21 (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham is set to oversee major new changes affecting every electric car owner without a driveway from next week. The Government will slash red tape around electric car cross-pavement solutions from October 21, easing the process of installing EV solutions such as pavement gullies, which could save drivers up to £1,000. Electric car owners pay a whopping 20% on public electric car charging costs, while those topping up at home currently pay 0% VAT.
This has led to a massive “driveway divide”, with road users without access to off-street parking forced to pay more. Charging at home under the domestic electricity price cap costs around 26p per kWh, with some smart tariffs as low as 7p per kWh. In contrast, public plugs can cost up to 50p per kWh, with EV drivers expected to save around £1,000 a year by using the domestic rates.
EV owners can run plugs under the pavement, connecting their domestic supply to their car to save costs. Up until now, road users had to undergo an arduous planning permission process to install the cables, but road users will now only need local highway authority clearance, which should be much faster.
The Department for Transport previously said: “For residents, domestic charging is often cheaper and more convenient to use than public infrastructure. Cross-pavement solutions allow an EV cable to pass across or through a pavement in a safe manner, in certain cases enabling access to domestic tariffs where residents do not have dedicated off-street parking.”
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Daniel Briggs, CEO at frontline worker car discount company Motorfinity, stressed the new rule could really be a boost for the used electric vehicle market.
The Government is axing red tape around cross-pavement solutions (Image: DfT)
He said: “Eight million households without driveways will have access to the cheaper overnight smart tariffs that they have missed out on for years. This will also cost them a fraction of daytime charging rates. It is a big deal for the cost of EV ownership and will boost the second-hand EV market too.”
However, it’s not all good news, with thousands of motorists unable to take advantage of the new scheme. It has been confirmed that EV owners living in one of England’s 10,000 conservation areas will still need to apply for planning permission.
This will slow down the process for motorists and could affect as many as 100,000 electric vehicles in the country.