Businesses and homeowners are being urged to take advantage of the grants available for EV charging installations before they change in April.
The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Grant Scheme (EVHS) offers up to £350 off the cost of an EV charging point being installed in a domestic residence. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) has offered the discount in conjunction with a parallel scheme for businesses, the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS), to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles.
From 1 April 2022 the terms of the EVHS will change, and people owning their own home in single-unit properties such as detached and semi-detached houses, terraced houses or bungalows will no longer be eligible. The grant will still be available for those living in rented accommodation or in flats or apartment blocks.
The WCS (also offering up to £350 discount per charging socket) will now be available to B&Bs, small accommodation businesses, SMEs, charities and owners of commercially let premises.
Landlords, social housing providers and owners of apartment blocks can now claim an EVHS grant. Previously the sole responsibility for installing a chargepoint in a privately owned flat in an apartment block fell to the individual flat owners.
The electric chargepoint comparison site Rightcharge says it has seen a 100% increase in home installation requests in January, while major charge point providers removed the opportunity for direct applications for the EVHS at the end of last year. Charge points must be installed by 31 March 2022 with grant claims submitted by 30 April 2022.
The government recently announced that developers will be required by law to install EV charge points in new homes, supermarkets and workplaces. The new legislation will also apply to buildings undergoing major renovation. These regulations will see up to 145,000 extra charge points installed across England each year.
