North Lanarkshire has announced that it will be introducing new costs for the use of its electric vehicle charging network.
Drivers will now have to pay 27 per kilowatt hour for the use of the area’s 96 public standard and fast chargers, and 40p per kilowatt hour for its 26 rapid chargers, which will also have an overstay fee of £30 after one hour.
The decision to begin charging for the use of power points was made by councillors back in November, after seeing the soaring energy prices causing the forecast for running cost to reach £852,000 throughout 2023.
North Lanarkshire have shaped their tariffs on those in their neighbouring county, South Lanarkshire, which also began charging for the public network in November.
The cost has been said to incorporate the cost of electricity, network maintenance and operation and will be regularly reviewed as energy costs are changing. In a post it was said that it will price of home charging for the 7kW and 22kW points, and to existing private sector 50kW rapid charging facilities.
Chargeplace Scotland had mentioned that North Lanarkshire is among 17 power point operators that have decided to update their tariff. This was to ensure that charging infrastructure can be maintained and continue to be accessible.
The council has seen an increase in 253 motorists carrying out 1259 charging sessions in July 2021 to 4071 “unique drivers” using chargers 18,075 times to supply 351,347 kilowatt hours of energy 13 months later, according to Daily Record.
The cost to the council for the energy being used cannot be sustained, hence why motorists can now expect to see a charge.
