Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 24
24
Accepted
Impact of new charge point regulations is only just beginning to be observed and monitored
Conclusion
When asked how it will monitor whether the regulations are working as intended the Department stated that it is only just starting to see the impact of these regulations and will keep them under review, in part 41 C&AG’s Report para 15 42 Q 82; C&AG’s Report paras 15, 3.3 and Figure 10 16 through the public attitudes work that the Department does to monitor consumer sentiment about electric vehicles. It anticipates that this research will also alert it to new concerns, such as perceived barriers to adoption by drivers who do not use an electric vehicle, as well as the likelihood of existing electric vehicle owners to switch back to petrol or diesel vehicles.43 In looking at whether areas of poor reliability could emerge within the 99% reliability standard for rapid chargers, the Department responded that the 99% standard applied to each charge point operator and that they thought it was exacting enough to ensure there was not much variability across an operator’s network. It stated that it will be monitoring the data on reliability and anticipates that the wider electric vehicle community are also likely to be paying attention to which operators meet the standard or otherwise.44 The cost of charging
Government Response Summary
The government states the recommendation is implemented, confirming it has appointed OPSS as regulator for the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 and will monitor compliance through OPSS reports, its Technology Tracker, chargepoint data, and engagement with industry. The regulations will be reviewed within five years.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented: April 2025 4.2 The department has appointed the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) to act as the regulator for the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 (PCPR). The department will monitor compliance through reporting from OPSS. In addition, the impact of the PCPR will be assessed through the department’s Technology Tracker, monitoring of open data from chargepoints, and engagement with industry and consumer groups. The PCPR will be reviewed within five years of coming into force, as per section 13 of the Regulations, and the department will publish the outcomes of this review. 4.3 The department already monitors the cost of charging across a range of charging channels, including domestic chargepoints, and fast, rapid and ultra-rapid public charging. This is undertaken on an ongoing basis using publicly available information on electricity tariffs and data purchased from Cornwall Insight on the cost of electric vehicle charging. 4.4 The government will continue to work with HM Treasury to understand the variance in costs associated with public and domestic charging and the extent to which any change in policy might impact the price of public charging, as well as consumer demand for EVs.