An update on the current electric vehicle charging network in Scotland

Rapid adoption
The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) has committed some funding (thought to be around £3 million for Scotland) to help promote the use of electric vehicles as taxis around the UK, and Scotland should see that funding coming through soon.

Most government funded installations have been single ‘rapid’ units or groups of up to five ‘posts’ with a handful of installations e.g. Broxden in Perth, Ingliston and Fountainpark in Edinburgh being a mixture of both types.

The government’s strategy on ‘rapid’ units to-date has been to use their allocated funding to provide as much cover as possible around the country’s road network with the initial emphasis having been on the major trunk roads between the larger centres of population (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, and Stirling). In the past 12 months more than 70 new ‘rapid’ units have been installed largely to fill in the gaps between the initial units and thus to open up more routes to EV drivers/owners; this has resulted in many more longer trips now being possible around the country.

There is a planned proposal to have ‘rapid’ units at no more than 35 miles apart around the country’s road network. Most of the ‘rapid’ units have been installed on land owned by the local authorities, although this may well change in the near future when OLEV funding requirements are better understood.

The government’s strategy on ‘posts’ to-date has been to provide these in car parks owned by the local authorities, or at commercial properties like hotels and restaurants. The government funded network is managed currently by ChargeYourCar (CYC) and this management contract is due up for renewal this summer.

The User Requirements for an EV Public Charging Network
An EV user’s main requirements of the network can be summarised by the four ‘R’s: readily available; reliable; robust; and rapidly commissioned. It is wise to take the main requirements in turn:

Readily Available – national coverage providing the correct units for each type of demand at appropriate locations (13A sockets, ‘posts’, and ‘rapids’). Clearly the network size has grown dramatically in the past 12 months but there are routes throughout Scotland which are still not easily accessible to EV drivers/owners.

Reliable – all units must work first time, every time, for every user. This is not always the case, with the main issues being poor communication signals in the more rural areas and the insidious issue of ‘unauthorised user’ creating an equipment fault which in turn is caused by the database of users on each unit being wiped clean every time the unit is powered down for whatever reason (servicing or maintenance).

Robust – if a unit fails, then there needs to be back-up at hand, either a ‘rapid’ or a ‘post’, preferably in ‘hubs’ with multi-unit installations. Currently most installations are of single units, therefore any ‘Phase 2’ for the network must include for multi-unit installations with perhaps extra ‘back-up’ being provided by the installation of the simpler ‘posts’ beside each rapid ’hubs’ with a mix of units is the way forward for ‘Phase 2’.

Rapidly Commissioned – an enforced fixed time between installation and full operation within one month. A reasonably period of say one month between installation and full operation (post commissioning) should be possible. However, some units, such as Killin and Balloch, have taken over 18 months to become fully operational and indeed other units have suffered poor reliability during their first few months operation. Both of these issues need to be resolved as soon as possible.

Current issues with secondary requirements
An EV user’s secondary requirements of the network can be summarised by the three ‘P’s: protection; publicity; and punishment. It is equally wise to take the secondary requirements in turn:

Protection – for the user, service personnel, and the fragile equipment. This should include lighting and canopies in order to enhance the charging experience. Very few rapid units have any lighting and canopies which means the users face driving rain or snow and a relatively inhospitable environment when charging, service personnel have to erect protective tents during bad weather, and the fragile equipment is subjected to the ingress of driving rain and snow which can cause equipment failures.

Most bicycle racks in public car parks are protected by shelters or canopies and certainly the majority of petrol/diesel pumps and their users are protected by adequate lighting and canopies.

Publicity – very few ‘way-finding’ signs direct users from the major roads to the charging sites and little on-site signage has been installed. There are plenty of charger maps available online but most are not kept up-to-date. EVAS members try to keep their charger map as up-to-date as possible.

Punishment – penalty signs defining the fines for the mis-use of charging spaces (similar to those for ‘disabled’ spaces) to stop ‘bay-blocking’ by ICE vehicles. Virtually no ‘penalty’ signage has been installed.

Conclusions
The current Public Charging Network in Scotland must only be considered as ‘Phase 1’ and any ‘Phase 2’ must include the provision of ‘hubs’ at en route charging locations with mixes of ‘rapids’ and ‘posts’ with a minimum of two ‘rapids’ and one ‘post’ – these should be concentrated along the major routes initially but spread out around the country so that robustness can be improved across the whole network.

Additionally, ‘Phase 2’ must also include: the removal of the two main charger unit issues of poor communication and ‘unauthorised user’ faults; the reduction in the time taken between installation and full operation of units down to say a one month period; the provision of better lighting and canopies at all charger locations; the provision of ‘way‑finding’ and site signage; and the provision of ‘penalty’ signs to deter ‘bay-blocking’.

Further Information
www.eva-scotland.org