Power Supply Issues with Electric Vehicle Charging Points

Sunday, 14 May 2023 06:30

By Local Democracy Reporter - Stuart Minting with additional reporting from Charlie Hopper

There are concerns that North Yorkshire's electric vehicle charging network could face challenges with it's power supply.

That's according to North Yorkshire council's climate change Councillor Greg White, who says that the local electricity network isn't fit for purpose.

A meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s executive was told the authority was so concerned about it impeding the establishment of the required 3,000 publicly available EV charging points by 2030 that the council was investigating using solar and hydro-electric solutions to provide power in some places.

In addition, the relatively high proportion of properties in the county with no off-street parking – some 21 per cent – would mean a greater demand for publicly available EV charging points than elsewhere.

The meeting heard while the council was developing on-street charging proposals it was focused on creating the publicly available EV charging points at “hub locations” where it would be convenient for residents and visitors to use them, rather than “tucked away in the corner of a car park”.

Executive members were told with £3.4m of funding already secured to expand EV charging points, the council had obtained more money than any other local authority in the country for the programme.

Barrie Mason, Assistant Director for Highways & Transportation, says that the council may look at Solar and Hydro Electric to help with the issues.