REA comments on the Government’s response to the BEIS Committee EV inquiry

• ·         Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee have published the Government’s response to their report, ‘Electric vehicles: driving the transition’.
• ·         The response follows on from the publication of the report in October 2018 which called for an early ban on new petrol and diesel car sales and more action on interoperability
• ·         The REA welcomes the Government’s commitment to becoming one of the world’s best charging networks bur urges action on interoperability and standardisation of charge point payments, consumer protection and the grid. 

Daniel Brown, Policy Manager and EV lead at the REA commented:

“The Government’s ambition for the UK to have one of the world’s best charging networks, reaffirmed today, is a welcome one and will be crucial for our future vehicle and supply chain manufacturing ambitions. Recent initiatives, such as confirming the timeframe for ensuring new chargers are ‘smart,’ the maintenance of grants for charge points, and the establishment of the EV Energy Taskforce are productive efforts that are helping further this goal.

“The Committee is right, however, to point out that issues remain. The REA hopes to see action on ensuring interoperability and standardisation of charge point payment and communications systems and are concerned that a range of proposed grid changes are not in sync with ensuring the cheaper, low-carbon, and more flexible power system we are striving for. Consumer protection needs to be enhanced, particularly as we dramatically ramp up home and workplace installations, and certain DNO practices need to be amended to ensure roll out gathers pace, rather than slows.”