Issue - meetings

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability submitted a report that outlined proposals to introduce a tariff for the use of electric vehicle (EV) charging points within the car parks managed by the Council in line with the Council’s fees and charges policy, as approved in December 2021.

Members were advised that the proposed tariff was 25p/kwh and the report set out the plan the replace the free EV chargers with charging points with a tariff for use. The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that subject to funding for upgrading the infrastructure, a strategy for the implementation of future electric vehicle bays and the infrastructure was currently being developed and would be brought forward in due course. 

The Executive Member said that some current projects were nearing completion and a pricing strategy needed to be determined before these projects could be made available to the public and be enforceable.

Councillor Wyllie, on behalf of Councillors Crystall and Devonshire, asked if the Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability could confirm if any approaches had been considered regarding introducing ultra-fast chargers and what might the associated costs be.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that the report covered the introduction of tariffs for use in Council provided EV chargers, rather than the Council’s overall approach to charger provision. He said that the mainstay of the current provision consisted of fast destination charges able to dispense 7 to 11kwh.

Members were advised that rapid chargers could be located in some Council owned locations, for example for taxi charging.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that rapid chargers were best placed near to main roads with easy access routes in and out. He said that recent high level modelling by the Council had indicated a cost of £35,000 plus for two rapid charging points, with the actual cost dependent on whether additional electricity infrastructure was required.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that if suitable locations were identified and agreed with external operators, one feasible approach could be to offer sites on a concession basis. He said that ultra-fast chargers represented a further step forward in technology.

Members were advised that ultra-fast chargers of 100kwh to 300kwh were outside of the reach of the Council as they were very expensive to install and had a very significant electricity supply capacity. The locations being focussed on were existing petrol station forecourts or dedicated ultra-fast charging hubs.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that East Herts Council was unlikely to own land of the appropriate size and location to interest the market. He said that the Council was looking to locate to extend the EV charging network into more rural parts of the District. Members were advised that Officers were drawing up a funding bid to the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles in consultation with a number of Parish Councils and village hubs.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that meetings had taken place with Tesla about possible sites for super chargers.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 290