Schemes that offer grants to those buying charge points for electric vehicles at home or the workplace will change next year with the UK Government clarifying new eligibility rules ahead of the April 2022 switch.
The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) will relaunch the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) and Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) in the new tax year, with funding prioritising a different set of applicants.
The EVHS will go on to focus on those EV drivers living in rented or leasehold properties, as well as be open to those living in flats. The changes move away from the current regulations that require access to off-street parking, and typically involve homeowners.
Currently, the grant provides up to £350 or 75% or the costs towards a fully-installed EV charge point, with the person applying for the grant requiring proof of an EV either on order, on lease or owned.
A new digital service will organise applications, which will require claims submitted under the current regulations to be completed and installed by 31 March 2022, likely to be similar to that currently used by WCS applicants.
The WCS will also undergo tweaks, expanding the support on offer to SMEs, landlords, charities, and organisations. It will continue to support businesses looking to install charge points as part of efforts to electrify their fleet, or encourage EV uptake amongst staff.
Current regulations see a £350 grant per socket, up to a total of 40 sockets, with output between 3 kW and 22 kW in power, amongst other requirements.
No mention has been made as yet to any changes in the grant amount for either scheme, though this could change between now and the implementation date for either or both systems.
The move is just the latest in a set of announcements going back years, with UK Government-backed financial support gradually being reduced or refocused as uptake of electric vehicles increases.
The arguments behind the changes are that as EVs become increasingly mainstream, grants are less important to provide an incentive into pure-electric vehicles.
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