Draft Implementation Plan: Vision for Scotland's public electric vehicle charging network

As of November 2024, Scotland met its target for 6,000 public EV charge points through a combination of public funding and private investment. 

To achieve our commitment to deliver approximately 24,000 additional public EV charge points by 2030, the Implementation Plan outlines how the private sector will take on a leading role in funding public EV chargers for cars and vans, scaling up deployment and using the right charge points in the right locations to ensure a sustainable, effective and accessible public charging network that serves all of Scotland.

Research suggests that by 2030, Scotland will need between 22,000 and 30,000 public charge points. To achieve this, we will need to accelerate the growth of the network at pace to meet demand, along with investment to fund it. It is now unsustainable for the levels of investment required to be provided through public funding. Delivering  approximately 24,000 additional public charge points by 2030 will necessitate an 8 fold increase in the level of private sector investment over the next 5 years.

The private sector invested approximately £25 to £35 million in expanding public EV charging infrastructure in Scotland in 2023 and is expected to have invested between £40 million and £55 million this year. While plans for future investment remain confidential, consultation suggests considerable levels of investment is planned for future years.

To ensure that everyone who drives cars and vans has access to the right type of public charger in the right geographical location to suit their needs, future private sector investment will need to incorporate less commercially appealing charge point infrastructure locations than have so far been developed.

Ways to improve commercial viability already identified include: addressing the increases in standing charges for grid connections, reducing network connection costs, the inclusion of renewable electricity in the UK Government's Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation and the use of multi-modal and multi-energy locations to combine modes of travel or different types of energy generation on one site.

The plan includes 15 short and medium term actions which are aligned to the five themes of the public charging Vision. Key roles for stakeholders are set out in the following areas:

• Public charge point operators must continue to invest in public EV charging, powered by renewables, to meet the needs of a growing number of users.
• Electricity Distribution Network Operators must support growth in public charging and enable the use of clean renewable energy.
• Local Authorities must continue to work in partnership with the private sector to enable investment in public EV charging infrastructure.
• The UK Government will use reserved powers on vehicles, energy and EV charging to support the continued the development of EV charging and a wider sustainable transport system.
• The National Electricity System Operator, Ofgem and Consumer Scotland also have important roles to play.

Alongside these partners, the Scottish Government will continue to convene stakeholders to monitor the market, enable private investment, confirm the use of clean renewable energy and ensure EVs and infrastructure support a wider sustainable transport system.

The Implementation Plan allocates primary stakeholder responsibility for the majority of the actions to either local authorities or charge point owners / operators. This reflects the importance of these organisations / businesses in the most fundamental areas of the roll out of public charging infrastructure; the planning process for installation of charge points and the right type of chargepoint in the right place with a robust operating and maintenance system to maximise customer experience.

The availability and accessibility of charge points where people need them is critical. Due to the Scottish Government's legacy of early investment in the public EV charging infrastructure and rapidly increasing private sector investment, Scotland has one of the most comprehensive networks in the UK.  We recognise that this expansion must continue across Scotland, particularly in areas where the commercial viability argument isn't as strong, such as rural and island communities as well as urban areas without access to off-street parking.

The Scottish Government worked with the British Standards Institute (BSI) in 2022 to develop the PAS 1899 (Electric Vehicles Accessible Charging Specification) standard. This industry standard provides specifications for the installers and operators of public EV charging infrastructure to ensure a more accessible and inclusive charging system across Scotland, and the UK as a whole.

The UK-wide Public Charge Point Regulations  2023 aimed at improving the consumer experience of public EV charging, came into force in November 2023 and were phased in during 2024, with the requirement that all public charge point operators maintain 99% reliability over their whole network introduced in November 2024.

Whilst at present EVs typically may have higher upfront costs, they tend to be less expensive to own than petrol and diesel vehicles, once whole life costs such as maintenance are considered. The affordability of EV charging, including public EV charging, has a significant impact on relative affordability of EV ownership.