Improving customer experience and holding charge point operators (CPOs) to a new standard of compliance are two key aspects of the Government’s Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, which came into effect this week (24 November).
Of note to BVRLA members is the reliability requirement that CPOs ensure their charge points are available 99% of the time or be subject to penalties. A CPO will not be penalised if reliability is below 99% for a given month if it is made up over the 12-month period, remaining at 99% reliability for the whole year. The Regulations also require CPOs to publish information on their compliance with the reliability requirement on their websites.
The legislation also looks to ensure:
- consumers can easily find a charge point that fits their needs
- ease of payment
- confidence in the good working order of the charging network
- price comparison across networks is enabled.
The first change under the Regulations has already been implemented, with CPOs required to display all prices in pence per kWh.
The legislation further aims to introduce payment roaming, although this will not be enforced until November 2025. Roaming is the ability to pay to charge an EV across multiple charge point networks using a single app or RFID card—equivalent to the fuel card for petrol and diesel vehicles.
