In an effort to tackle pollution from diesel cars, Transport for London plans to spend £18m on boosting London’s power grids to cater for the new electric black cabs. Next year January, the law requires that all new black cabs must be battery-powered electric models. The funding will go into enabling British energy companies to install 300 rapid electric charging stations before 2020.The fast charging points take less time to charge a car’s battery, compared to the existing models.
75 rapid chargers will be installed by the end of the year. Charging points will be open to owners of electric cars in London, although some sites will be exclusively for black cabs. The capital has seen a rise in use of electric vehicles, with electric Teslas, Nissan Leafs and BMWs becoming increasingly popular. TfL’s director of surface strategy and planning, Ben Plowden, said: “An extensive, rapid charging network is fundamental in helping drivers make the shift from fossil fuels to electric.”
Companies that won the TfL tender to make the installations include: Centrica, Bluepoint London, Chargemaster, Ireland’s Electricity Supply Board and Fastened from the Netherlands. Drivers will pay around £10.80 to fully charge their cars at the rapid charging points , as well as a monthly fee of £4.TfL has pledged to cap the rates for the first two years to reduce the cost to drivers.
Owners of Taxis older than 10 years will get a payment of up to £5,000 to help them purchase new zero-emission cars. This comes after a report by the Green Alliance revealed that the UK’s energy networks cannot cater for the rise in number of electric cars and solar panels expected in the next few years. They warned that increased use of electric cars would result in parts of the UK experiencing unplanned voltage drops. One car requires a similar amount of electricity as a home uses in three days.
