Charging Troubles: UK’s Electric Vehicle Revolution Faces a Reality Check
Drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK are encountering a stark reality: the charging infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with the rapid adoption of electric cars, leading to frustration, inconvenience, and even stranding.
Lee Davey’s recent experience highlights these issues. On a 70-mile journey in his all-electric Porsche Taycan, from Warrington to Mansfield, he faced a series of setbacks that transformed a routine trip into a two-day ordeal, costing him over £100 and leaving him stranded.
As snow began to fall in Buxton, Davey’s battery level dwindled. He immediately recognized the challenge, stating, “With an electric car if it’s snowing, forget it – you’re not charging anywhere.” Unlike petrol stations, EV chargers often lack canopies, and there is often no attendant to assist drivers. This makes it incredibly difficult to charge in inclement weather.
Despite repeated attempts to use chargers at Morrison’s and BP Pulse, both were out of service. With just 3% battery power remaining, Davey was forced to find a hotel, book a room for £100, and rely on the hotel’s slow charger, which took 20 hours to fully charge his car. As a result of this experience, Davey plans to switch back to petrol when his lease runs out on his electric car.
Davey’s experience is not unique. A more significant problem is the charging infrastructure itself. Although the UK now has approximately 60,000 public charging points, the quality and reliability of these chargers are a serious concern.
“It’s just been a nightmare. I dread to think how many hours I’ve wasted charging my car – it must be hundreds of hours over the last four years.”
Range anxiety has shifted from a concern about battery capacity to the reliability of charging.
A 2024 Which? survey found that almost three-quarters of EV drivers reported experiencing a faulty public charger at least once in the previous year. Further, 37% have found it difficult to locate a functional charger.
According to the Electrical Times, some areas in the UK have reported up to 30% of chargers being out of service, with issues ranging from network failures to broken connectors.
The rapid expansion of the EV charger market has introduced other problems. Fierce competition between providers and the impending ban on petrol and diesel vehicles in 2030 has led to rapid installations, but concerns about the affordability and upkeep of chargers have taken a backseat.
An anonymous project manager at a charging provider observed the pressure. Chris stated that the company has decreased costs, by scrapping canopies and considering replacing gas stations with EV chargers, although demand is not yet present and is too expensive (roughly £150,000 per point). Chris blames the “mad rush” for the proliferation of unreliable chargers as a result of vandalism to power cable thieves.
Further, the UK’s electrical infrastructure is being strained. Chris said that the electrical infrastructure is too limited to support rapid expansion.
Andrew Petrie from Dufftown, Scotland, faced a similar ordeal. While driving his son home from a cricket game, Petrie was forced to look for a station on the side of the road. Unfortunately, all three machines were out of service. After being assured that another charging station would work, he set off, only to discover the same issue.
Eventually, his wife had to drive 80 miles to rescue the pair. Similar to Davey, he was able to leave his car at a hotel’s charger and returned to driving petrol cars. Petrie stated, “I will not go near electric cars until the day they ban the last petrol and diesel cars going on the streets.”
Gridserve forecourts, with their staffed points and canopies, offer a more traditional, reliable charging experience. However, issues such as bureaucracy related to charging providers and Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) complicate their replication across the country.
Chris suggests that the biggest hurdle is the complexity of agreements with DNOs, which are licenced companies that own and operate the network of cables, transformers, and towers. The government has a target of 300,000 public charging points by 2030, but a recent report highlighted a lack of chargers outside of London and the South East, alongside accessibility issues, particularly for drivers with disabilities.
Chris suggests that the present, less-structured approach, is more probable for future charging at EV stations, taxi ranks, or shopping mall parking lots.
Davey sums up the issue: “The infrastructure is just terrible in the UK and nobody is taking it seriously.”
The government is committed to its goal of replacing filling stations with electric charging, but it is also working with industry to upgrade infrastructure and ensure grid capacity is available.
Whether these measures will be implemented quickly enough to address the current frustrations of EV drivers remains to be seen.
