Over the last number of years, the government has announced a raft of measures to encourage the use of cleaner vehicles and drive the growth of the electric car sector. Some of these measures specifically look at making more electric vehicle charging points available at workplaces and homes across the UK.
The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) is provided by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), and offers a grant of up to a 75% contribution towards the cost of installing one chargepoint up to a maximum of £500. Using a chargepoint is safer and quicker than a conventional plug socket.
In order to qualify for the grant, the applicant must have purchased an eligible electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle on or after 01 October 2016. The household in question must also have off-street parking, and must use an OLEV-approved home charging point installer. The EVHS funding is limited to one installation per eligible vehicle and up to a maximum of two charging points per household.
The authorised installer will claim for the grant on behalf of the householder. The remaining cost should be agreed with the installer prior to installation of the charging point. There are separate government schemes to encourage the use of electric charging points for eligible businesses, charities and public sector organisations as well as for local councils installing on-street residential chargepoints for plug-in electric vehicles.
