Centrica in electric car charging deal

CENTRICA has struck a deal to install electric car charging points on the outskirts of London.

The British Gas owner will add charging points to ten Volkswagen dealerships owned by Citygate. The sites are ‘the gateway to London’, said Centrica executive Carl Bayliss, spanning an arc on the edge of the proposed ultra-low emissions zone from Ruislip in West London to Reading.

Centrica plans to install electric vehicle charging points in homes too. In the summer, it announced plans to develop a home charging installation service for Ford owners, offering cheaper tariffs for overnight charging. Smart charging means electric cars will help ‘smooth’ electricity usage from the National Grid through the day by being charged mainly at night, when demand is low.

Last month 246,000 plug-in cars had been registered in the UK, up from 3,500 in 2013. The boom will require 29,000 charging points by 2030, when electric vehicles are expected to account for 60 per cent of new car and van sales.