Barnet Council begins major rollout of on-street charging

The London Borough of Barnet has begun installing 1000 new on-street EV charging points in partnership with char.gy. Upon completion, the project should bring the total number of charge points in Barnet up to 2,500.

Barnet Council states that work on the first 500 charge points has already begun, and that they should be ready for public use within the next three months. After that, an additional 500 are set to be installed over the next three years.

Each of the on-street chargers are being delivered by char.gy, the UK chargepoint operator which offers two types of charging solution. One of these is a lamppost-mounted charger which can be retrofitted to streetlights and draw power from them for EVs. In practice, this is a small, box-shaped unit mounted on the lamppost with a Type 2 connector, which char.gy says can be installed in approx. two hours. The other product they offer is a ‘bollard-style’ charge point which resembles a typical bollard.

Both types of char.gy unit are located kerbside and feature a unique web ID. They can deliver AC charging at rates of between 5.3kW, 7kW, and 22kW, and can be accessed using the Char.gy app, via scanning a QR code and paying with Apple or Google Pay; or by using one of char.gy’s roaming partners.

Barnet Council states that its new units will be the lamppost variant, and will provide 5kW AC charging. A low-rate night tariff is designed to encourage overnight charging. Additionally, the chargers will predominantly be built on streets that lack off-street parking in order to encourage EV adoption locally.

The project has partly been funded by £800,000 of grants through the UK government’s On Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS), which covered 60 per cent of the costs. The remainder was covered by char.gy. John Lewis, char.gy CEO, said: “Barnet is showing real leadership with this rollout – making it easier for people to make the switch to electric by ensuring charging is available right outside their homes. We’re excited to be delivering one of our largest borough-wide installations yet and to bring our experience to the streets of Barnet. By working closely with councils like this, we’re making EV charging simple, fair, and accessible to all.”

barnet.gov.uk