New rules being introduced today could see businesses save hundreds of pounds when installing electric vehicle chargers, with final bills costing just £45.
From today, Friday, April 10, Labour has announced that it will be cutting red tape on the installation of public chargers to further boost the rollout of devices across the UK.
The Department for Transport announced that, under the new terms, businesses would benefit from fewer admin burdens, slashing installation costs from as much as £1,000 to just £45.
Changes will be made to the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 to reduce installation wait times from months to days.
Other amendments to the Traffic Management Permit Scheme (England) Regulations 2007 will remove the need for section 50 licences to install chargers.
This is being done to allow businesses to install devices for cheaper in a quicker timeframe and minimise the need for complex street works.
Operators will now be able to apply for a street works permit through Street Manager, the new tool used by highway authorities and utility companies in England.
Commenting on the new measures, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander emphasised the importance of businesses in the transition to electric vehicles.
Labour has slashed red tape to boost the installation of public EV chargers
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She said: "These changes slash the cost of permits for businesses, lowering installation fees for public chargers from £1,000 to as little as £45, and cutting wait times from several months to just days.
"We're investing over £600million to roll out hundreds of thousands more charge points, building on 118,000 already in place, and cutting the upfront cost for families of going electric with savings of up to £3,750 off a new EV."
The Labour MP for Swindon South said the switch to electric "has never made more sense" given the rapidly rising price of petrol and diesel.
It comes as the UK saw its best-ever month for electric vehicle sales in March, with 86,120 new registrations, capturing 22.4 per cent of the total market share.
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There are more than 119,000 public electric vehicle chargers across the UK
| GETTYYear-on-year sales of electric cars have soared by 24.2 per cent, with hopes that incentives from the Government and manufacturers will further boost uptake.
Given the expensive fuel prices seen across the UK in recent weeks, many experts are also predicting that drivers will more prominently consider buying an electric car.
The cutting of red tape is also expected to help the UK meet its informal goal of having 300,000 chargers installed by the end of the decade.
The latest data from Zapmap shows there are 119,080 chargers installed across the UK, with 759 devices installed in the last month alone.
The Ford Puma Gen-E is included in the £3,750 incentive level of the Electric Car Grant
| FORDJarrod Birch, head of policy and public affairs at ChargeUK, described the changes as a "very positive move", noting that the campaign group had been calling for this since its inception.
He added: "It will help to speed up the deployment of the hundred thousand on-street local charge points we are expecting to install in the next two to three years.
"However, there remains a lot more for Government to do if it wants to fully back the businesses at the heart of the EV revolution. Addressing the full cost burden for charge point operators, which is largely driven by energy and standing charges, is critical.
"Tackling surging standing charges, equalising VAT with home charging and committing to stable policy through a robust ZEV mandate are the highest priorities for the charging industry to invest even more quickly in infrastructure."