MIKE HEDGES AM WELCOMES NEWS THAT THE WELSH GOVERNMENT IS DEVELOPING AN EV CHARGING STRATEGY.



Speaking from his Morriston Office, Swansea East AM said… ‘This is the third time I have raised the issue of electric charging points for vehicles in the last few months. Ensuring that there are sufficient charging points in public areas must be part of the future for electric vehicles across Wales. Not everyone is going to have a home charging point (e.g. if you live in terrace houses) and if electric vehicles are going to become the norm we need to put the infrastructure in place before people make the change. I look forward to studying the EV Charging Strategy mentioned in the Ministers Reply.

 Ken Skates –

You asked the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd during Business Statement on 21 January for an update on publicly available Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points. I have been asked to respond, as this falls under my portfolio.

As I have stated previously, we expect the vast majority of EV charging points will be delivered by the private sector. A recent report estimated the cost of rollout of EV charging infrastructure in the UK to be £49bn, so we have to ensure that we allocate public funding efficiently. That is why I have committed to developing an EV Charging Strategy this year, which will help to prioritise Welsh Government action to ensure that electric vehicle users in Wales are well served.

Tesla operate some charging stations which are for the exclusive use of their cars but they represent a small proportion of the total number of EV chargers. As noted in the debate, the number of charge points in Wales is increasingly rapidly to meet current and future demand.

More generally, the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act (July 2018) gives the UK Government powers to standardise payments, ensure key charge point information is made public, and compel deployment at motorway service stations. It also gives the UK Government the powers to ensure that charge points are ‘smart’ and able to respond to the needs of network operators and suppliers to manage demand. This may allow Government to introduce secondary legislation relating to interoperability in the future.

We will continue to liaise with the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and others to work to ensure the roll-out of accessible and convenient EV chargers in Wales