By Ian Featherstone (Energy Saving Trust).

The Chairman welcomed Ian Featherstone (Energy Saving Trust) and the Principal Transport Policy Officer, Gordon Oliver, to the meeting and invited them to address the Panel. 

Members were given a brief presentation on Electric vehicle charging in residential streets.  The presentation covered the following:

• Introduction to Energy Saving Trust.
• Vehicle technology & charging.
• Charging in residential areas & case study.
• Funding available.
• Wider opportunities for ULEV adoption.

In the ensuing discussion the following points were noted:

Ø  That from the 01 January 2018 there would be ultra low emissions in London.

Ø  That by 2020 all small vehicles working on Heathrow Airport would be electric. 

Ø  That the electric vehicles available ranged from £13k - £100k.

Ø  That the tested charged range was 109 miles in 2011 compared to 250 miles in 2017.

Ø  That about 1.5% of new car registrations were plug in vehicles.

Ø  That the aim of new car registrations being plug in vehicles by 2040 was 20,000,000. 

Ø  That the tow main options for residential parking was a charge point or a lamppost with a charge point.  It was noted that a charge point could be placed in a wall if there were no safety issues. 

Ø  That the Energy Saving Trust could provide the RBWM with consultancy help, could look at grey fleet use and could help with the implementation.

Ø  Martin Fry stated that he felt this to be a very good presentation re: vision for the future. 

Ø  That the technology would be relatively cheap to upgrade in the future (to remove charging points and move to underground charging).

Ø  That vehicles could be charged via credit card payments or memberships.

Ø  That the charging plugs locked in once charging had started which meant you could not be charged for energy not used.

Ø  That the standard charge for a Nissan Leaf was four hours.

Ø  That it was no longer believed that using a fast charge point was detrimental to an electric cars battery.

Ø  That you could identify the locations of charge points by going to ‘National Charge Point Registry’. 

Ø  Councillor Werner questioned whether it would be better to put the charging points in Local Authority car parks, workplaces and leisure centres rather than on residential roads.  It was noted that whilst this was possible it would not be part of the scheme being put before the Panel today.

Ø  Councillor Werner raised his concern over the space available / needed on on-street parking roads in the Royal Borough.

Ø  That the concern was that the Royal Borough might be left with charge points that were out of warranty.

The Principal Transport Policy Officer informed Members that he had talked to Pod Point, who were one of the largest suppliers of charging infrastructure in the UK.  It was noted that their offer was summarised below:

• If the Council was to get a grant to fund 75% of the purchase / installation cost, then Pod Point would provide the match funding, so there would be no net cost to RBWM.
• They would take on all running and maintenance costs and all responsibilities for the life of the charge point (estimated at 7 years).
• They would install ‘fast’ 7kW / 32A charge points, which could charge a Nissan Leaf from flat in 4 hours.  Each charge point had two outlets and could charge two vehicles at a time.
• The tariff that they would charge users would replicate the home charge cost and would be a PAYG basis.
• The profit that they make would cover all maintenance costs and could potentially pay for replacement costs after 7 years.
• Each charge point would serve two vehicles and would come with standard Type 2 connectors.
• The charge points were secure and could only be accessed via a smartphone app.
• They were protected by a guardrail to avoid accidental damage.
• If the Council was to install 10 charge points, then the total cost would be circa £50k depending on electrical connection costs (75% grant / 25% Pod Point / 0% RBWM).  The only cost for the Council would be in making the order for / marking out the dedicated bays.

The Clerk was asked to circulate this presentation to the Panel following the meeting.

The Chairman thanked Ian Featherstone and the Principal Transport Policy Officer for attending the meeting and presenting to the Panel.