EV charging use rises by 400 per cent in St Albans

Simon Grover, Green councillor for St Albans, has outlined that the use of electric vehicle (EV) charging points has quadrupled.

The figures were obtained from Evalu8, which provided EV charging points across the city and found that local charging points were utilised 1,329 times last year, delivering 8,414 kWh of electricity.

The increase signals the third year in a row that EV charging has risen in the region.

However, Grover has called for more charging points to be installed, claiming motorists will only buy EVs so long as there is an according increase of charging points.

Councillor Grover explained that 8,000 kilowatt hours ‘is equivalent to about 15,000 miles of driving an ordinary petrol car around town. So these electric vehicles are really starting to make a difference. Air pollution is an increasingly serious problem in St Albans, and electric vehicles are definitely part of the solution.’

However, Grover maintained that several residents ‘have spoken to me about electric cars they’ve bought, and how there’s a need for more charging points round the district.’

Currently there are four district council-run charging points with dedicated bays in St Albans, which were installed by Hertz county council in partnership with Evalu8.

Grover added: “Now we know the uptake is rising so fast, it’s vital that we install more charging points around the city and the district.”

The average charging time was 2.2 hours per electric vehicle.

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