Chapter 1 – Introduction, objectives and approach Introduction In November 2020 the UK Government announced that the phase-out date for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans will be brought forward to 2030, with all new cars and vans to be fully zero emission at the tailpipe from 2035. To enable this transition and support the UK Government’s target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, electric vehicles (EVs) need to be effectively integrated into and actively support the energy system.
EV smart charging involves shifting charging to a different time of day, such as overnight when there is lower demand on the electricity system, or to times of high renewable energy generation. This can help reduce the need for costly electricity network reinforcement and increased generation capacity, and offers benefits to consumers too, including savings on their energy bills. Smart charging of EVs plays an important role in driving the transition to a smarter and more flexible energy system. Government and Ofgem are already taking action to drive this transition, as we will set out in the upcoming 2021 Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan.
The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 (AEV Act) gives Government powers through secondary legislation to mandate that all EV chargepoints sold and installed in the UK have smart functionality and meet minimum device-level requirements. Following the passage of the AEV Act, Government consulted businesses and individuals on implementing smart charging requirements under the AEV Act. The ‘Electric vehicle smart charging consultation’ opened on 15 July 2019 and closed on 7 October 2019.
The aim of the public consultation was to outline the government’s approach and objectives for smart charging of EVs (chapter 1); seek views on initial, device-level regulations (“Phase One”) (chapter 2); gather evidence on a second phase of legislation for a long-term smart charging solution (“Phase Two”) (chapter 3); and gather evidence on whether to use the AEV Act power regarding the transmission of chargepoint data (chapter 4). In May 2020 Government published a summary of responses to the consultation, which restated the Government’s overall aim to maximise the use of smart charging and mandate that all new private chargepoints must be smart.
This publication contains Government’s policy response to all chapters of the 2019 consultation. 8