Westminster council has appointed Siemens to install a network of an additional 500 ubitricity electric vehicle (EV) charge points in the borough by the end of March 2023.
The additional charge points are set to grow to the council’s existing network of over 1,500 charge points to more than 2,000.
The charge points, which are installed directly into existing street lampposts, charge at a speed of up to 5kW and take just under 2 hours to install. The rollout is planned to be installed into key residential and commercial locations, allowing residents to easily charge hybrid and electric vehicles on the street where they live. The council’s goal is to make EV charging accessible for everyone, with a particular focus on the residents in Westminster who do not have access to private off-street parking and charging.
Lack of accessible public EV charging points is a common barrier to EV adoption, which is why Westminster council is also reaching out to the community and asking residents to request an EV charge point near to them using an online form.
Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, cabinet member for city management and air quality at Westminster City Council, said: “Westminster has some of the highest carbon emissions and poorest air quality of any local authority and urgent steps needs to be taken if we want to improve. Reducing travel by petrol or diesel cars is one of the most effective ways to improve air quality, so this big increase in charging points demonstrates how seriously Westminster Council is taking air quality.”
“With the help from our Siemens and ubitricity partners, we are working towards a scenario where all resident vehicles in Westminster become electric in the future and this pledge for an additional 500 charging points to be installed across the borough, with a potential stretch target of 1000, is a big step toward reaching this goal and will help support us in our ambition to make Westminster an even better place to work, visit and live in for current and future generations.”