A cross-sector partnership has been announced to significantly expand Cumbria’s EV charging infrastructure.
Supported by charging infrastructure specialists, the partnership formed in autumn 2020 and has since been mapping potential locations for EV charging points across the county.
There has been a particular focus on hard to reach places, as well as locations near households with little or no off-street parking.
The partnership’s work will be used to support the UK government’s On-Street Residential ChargePoint Scheme and the new Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot, to fund public EV charging infrastructure across Cumbria.
Mike Taylor, Electricity North West’s head of customer engagement, said: “We’re expecting to see 1.2 million electric cars and vans on North West roads by the end of the decade, which will mean a revolution as to how we travel.
“As the power network operator for Cumbria, it’s our job to make sure that everyone living and working in the county can continue to depend on the network, just as they do now, even with all the changes.
“And, not only that, we also want to ensure that the millions of tourists that visit Cumbria each year have the confidence that they’ll be able to charge their car or vehicle.
“We’ve huge investments planned and as part of our next business plan, we’ve proposed to spend £1.8bn to create vital new capacity across our region and help facilitate the transition toward a net zero future.”
The partnership believes the private sector will play an important role in the provision of the EV charging infrastructure and so intends to support Cumbrian businesses that are planning to install EV chargepoints.
