Concerns over the condition of electric vehicle chargers raised by MSP
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A North East MSP has voiced fears that the condition of electric vehicle charging points will deteriorate after it was revealed the Scottish Government no longer subsidises the repair and maintenance of the plug-in points.
At Holyrood, MSP Liam Kerr raised concerns that cash-strapped councils in the north and north-east will not be able to afford to pay for the upkeep of the chargers.
It comes as Highland Council revealed it had been stripped of Transport Scotland funding for repairing its chargers despite the number of electric vehicles more than doubling in the last year.
The local authority blames this among other factors for its decision to more than double the cost of its EV charging – from £12 to fill up to £28.
In a question to environment minister Màiri McAllan, Mr Kerr raised concerns that other councils will follow this tariff increase due to a lack of Scottish Government cash to repair and maintain chargers.
Previously obtained figures from Mr Kerr, the shadow secretary for net zero, energy and transport, showed almost 8000 electric vehicle charger faults were reported across Scotland in the last year.
And he believes this number will continue to rise due to funding being axed for their upkeep.
Mr Kerr said: “The Scottish Government is pulling the plug on electric vehicle owners by stripping councils of this subsidy which they rely on to maintain and repair charging points.
“What message does this send to people looking to make the switch to electric when a high number of public charging points in the north-east are continually broken yet there’s no money to actually repair them.
“Owning an electric vehicle must be as convenient as owning a traditionally powered vehicle but the charging facilities must be working for this to happen.
“I fear that these constant cuts from the Scottish Government to our electric vehicle network will ultimately contribute to substantial tariff rises in the north-east – something we have already seen in areas such as the Highlands.”
