Electric Vehicles

(asked on 28th August 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to (a) increase the number of electric vehicles on the UK's roads and (b) ensure the adequate supply of electricity for those vehicles.


Answered by
Rachel Maclean Portrait
Rachel Maclean
This question was answered on 8th September 2020

The Government is investing?around?£2.5bn?,?with grants available for ultra-low emission vehicles, as well?as funding?to support charge point infrastructure at homes,?workplaces,?on residential streets?and across the wider roads network. The Government consulted on bringing forward an end to the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans, from 2040 to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible. The responses are helping to inform our thinking on what further appropriate measures to achieve a faster transition will need to be. The Transport Secretary has also announced that the Government will consult on measures to improve the consumer experience of using the public charging network, so that charging an electric vehicle is as straightforward as refuelling a conventional vehicle today.

The Government and Ofgem are considering the implications of electric vehicle policy for the energy system. We are engaging with stakeholders, including network companies, to ensure that increasing demand can be accommodated whilst minimising the impact on businesses, workers and consumers across the UK, building on the significant demand and supply-side measures in place. The impacts presented in the National Grid’s latest Future Energy Scenario are readily manageable by the electricity system. The capacity market is our principal tool for ensuring we have sufficient generation capacity to meet demand on an annual basis. It should be possible to manage additional demand arising from greater uptake of EVs through adjustments to the amount of capacity secured in the four-year period ahead Capacity Market auctions. The electricity market is already set up to promote investment in generation capacity to meet demand; for example, the Contracts for Difference scheme facilitates significant investment in low-carbon generation. This complements numerous measures to ensure a smarter, more flexible energy system, increasing the efficiency of the electricity system to prepare for electric vehicles.

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