The Council

Monday, September 12 2011, 12:04 GMT

Council launches first electric charging station

Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change and Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne and Cabinet Lead for the Environment Cllr Louise Bloom were both on hand to help launch the borough’s first charging station for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles at a multi-storey car park in Eastleigh town centre.

Funding provided by the Government to Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has been used to create the Electric Vehicle (EV) charging point in Mitchell Road Multi-storey car park in Eastleigh town centre.  The wall mounted charging station is free to users and can be used to charge electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The charging station provides either a 13amp socket or a 32amp socket which provides a faster charge. The electricity supplier is Chargemaster who have supplied and installed the charging station in the public car park.

The charging station was supplied free of charge to the Council under a three year contract and in the future will be linked to a nationwide EV charging network.

Nationally the use of electric cars is set to grow with around 10% of all new vehicles requiring plug in facilities by the end of this decade.  The charging point within the multi-storey car park will provide motorists with the chance to recharge their vehicle whilst they shop or work in the town centre and it is anticipated as the demand grows further units will be installed in other public car parks.

Cabinet Lead for the Environment  Cllr Louise Bloom said ”This is another great example of the Council leading the way in tackling environmental  issues and providing a practical solution to the issue of recharging electric or plug in hybrid vehicles.”

Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change and Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne said “Electric vehicles are increasingly competitive on cost with a normal family car, once you take into account low electricity prices compared to petrol and in this case the charging station is completely free!. 

The biggest worry people have about electric vehicles is that they will not travel far enough but with a range of more than 100 miles and with lots of charging stations being installed up and down the country I think drivers will warm to this idea.” 

He added “The future is electric - these vehicles can now give people the mobility they expect without damage to the environment.”

For further information about this scheme visit   www.chargemasterplc.com

Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change and Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne, Cllr Louise Bloom and Kevin Sharpe from Zero Carbon World launch the new charging station in Eastleigh town centre.