Lamp post charging back in play after advice review

Local authorities in London and the south east had been advised to cease installing charge points on legacy lamp post columns, as the wiring had been deemed too thin to support the load. However, after a series of tests carried out by UK Power Networks and charge point operator Shell ubitricity, the network operator has reversed its advice, deeming that 5kW charging can be installed across the older lamp posts.

All 133 local authorities operating in the area UK Power Networks have been given the go-ahead to install 5kW charge points to their lamp posts, which is one of the fastest and cheapest methods to roll out public charging. For a budget of £1m, Shell ubitricity estimates that local authorities could install 700-800 lamp post chargers. The same budget would deliver just 60-75 Fast Dual charge points (7-22kW) or 20-25 Rapid Single charge points.

“Lamp post charging helps local authorities to roll out charging infrastructure at scale and allows EV drivers to charge their cars close to home,” Stuart Wilson, market unit Lead at ubitricity, said in a statement.

“Over eight million households in the UK do not have access to off-street parking and without strong public EV charging infrastructure, there is a legitimate concern that people without a driveway will be left behind in the transition to electric vehicles in the UK. This is great news for EV drivers and we are proud to have collaborated with UK Power Networks on this guidance.”

The new guidance should particularly benefit EV owners in towns and cities, where it is estimated that up to 60 per cent of people do not have access to off-street parking. According to the government’s EV infrastructure strategy, between 300,000 and 700,000 public charge points will be needed by 2030, serving approximately 10 million electric vehicles forecasted to be on the UK’s roads.

“This is great news for customers and lights the way for a vast swathe of new electric vehicle charging stations across the region we serve,” said Mark Adolphus, director of Connections at UK Power Networks.

“It underlines the importance of networks collaborating with the wider energy industry to ensure they can deliver with confidence and certainty.”