EV chargers may be switched off at peak times

Electric car chargers could be getting switched off remotely or turned down by energy companies during peak times, the Times has reported.

UK Power Networks is calling for the right to be able to remotely control vehicle charging as a last resort in order to prevent power cuts.

Forecasts suggest that electric vehicles could increase peak demand far beyond the level that existing power stations can generate and cable networks can transmit.

In order to overcome this problem, the industry and government plan to encourage “smart charging” which means a household agrees to charge their vehicle at off-peak times when the system can deal with the demand.

However, Suleman Alli, director of safety and strategy at UK Power Networks, said he hoped that pricing tariffs would persuade people to charge cars at off-peak times only, but that the company needed the powers to intervene if they did not.

He said: “One of our key roles is to keep the lights on. If we start to see uncoordinated or uncontrolled charging, that may jeopardise the network security and safety. We need to be able to step in and manage it.”