Extra electric car charging points coming to West Midlands

Energy regulator Ofgem has said it is investing heavily to expand the UK's electric vehicle charging network.

The watchdog said the funding, which is part of a wider £40 billion commitment, will go towards more than 200 low carbon projects across the UK to help the country prepare for more electric transport.

Across the country 39 motorway service areas will benefit including Frankley north and south on the M5 and Norton Canes on the M6 Toll which will get new sub-stations for the charging points.

Western Power Distribution is spending £58.4m on increasing capacity by 617megawatts including improvements between Bushbury, Wolverhampton, and Stafford.

Charging points are also to be put in at eight railway stations in Wales including some in Mid Wales.

Places such as Llandudno, Glasgow, Kirkwall, Warrington, York and Truro will also benefit from increased network capacity as a result of the investment.

Ofgem said it will partly support installing cables needed to launch "1,800 new ultra-rapid charge points", tripling the current network. A further 1,750 charging points will be installed in towns and cities across the UK, it added. There are currently 918 such points.

It said that the investment, which will take place over the next two years, reflects the fact that Britain's cables, substations and other infrastructure "need a massive upgrade" to cope with an expanded surge in demand.

Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem, said: "The payment will support the rapid take-up of electric vehicles which will be vital if Britain is to hit its climate change targets.

"Drivers need to be confident that they can charge their car quickly when they need to.

"In the year that Glasgow hosts the Cop26 climate summit, the energy networks are rising to the challenge and working with us and partners to accelerate projects that can start now, benefiting consumers, boosting the economy and creating jobs."

Rachel Maclean, transport minister, said: "I warmly welcome today's news from Ofgem, which will greatly improve the resilience of our charging network as we build back greener.

"With more than 500,000 electric cars now on UK roads, this will help to increase this number even further as drivers continue to make the switch to cleaner, greener vehicles."

John Wilmot, chief executive of car leasing comparison website LeaseLoco, said: "This announcement by Ofgem is exactly what is needed if the green motoring revolution is to stay on track.

"Consumers are committed to greener motoring, and that was confirmed in a recent survey we carried out of UK car owners. Almost a third said they would consider buying electric as their next car, but had concerns about the capability of the charging infrastructure.

"At the end of the day, car owners will be reluctant to trade in their diesel and petrol motors for electric if they feel that charging their cars will become an inconvenience.

"If they are going to be persuaded to early switch to electric now, investment in the charging infrastructure has to be the top priority."