The scheme, being made available through recharging network Source East, uses a British government grant subsidy to offer POD Point communicating home charge locations at £225 ($360), which includes installation costs. Furthermore, EV owners are also given a complimentary year’s membership (normally £10), providing them access to a growing number of public charging stations located throughout eastern England.
Although not currently available directly to consumers in the UK, POD Point units, are designed to provide drivers with straightforward charging information and controls to make the process simple and cost-effective. Additionally, the they are able to schedule vehicle charging overnight to take advantage of cheaper electricity rates during off-peak periods.
The Source East offer will no doubt help foster the popularity of not only the Pod Point charging stations but also EV motoring in the UK, especially considering that normally, one of these units costs around £375 ($600), while installation costs can run as much as £500 $800) on top of that.
The Source East program is currently available to residents of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. If it proves successful, perhaps there are lessons we can learn from it in developing charging infrastructure on our side of the Atlantic.
Source:
hybridcars.com
