Supporting the electrification of transport in our region.

We engaged with stakeholders to inform them about the steps that are being taken to facilitate the roll-out of Electric Vehicles in our region.

Decarbonising the energy system and the electrification of everything from vehicles to heating, is an important step on the journey towards achieving the UK target of net zero emissions by 2050.

We are committed to supporting the electrification of transport in a way that minimises the need for new network infrastructure and reinforcement and delivers maximum value for our customers.

We set out our plans in our ‘Maximising the value of electric vehicles for our customers’ EV readiness document that was published last year and have continued to engage with stakeholders on the steps we are taking to support and accelerate the uptake of EVs.

The first dedicated engagement event we hosted was a webinar in October 2019 and more than 140 stakeholders registered to take part. We used this webinar as an opportunity to discuss our role in the low carbon transition and explore current EV uptake and future projections. We talked about the new commercial and technical solutions we are developing and explained how we can support our stakeholders in achieving their net zero targets. When participants were asked if the webinar had improved their understanding of what we are doing to support the electrification of transport in our region, 77% of those who responded agreed it had, 14% were neutral and 9% disagreed.

Our second engagement event took place in February 2020. This took the form of a workshop and was attended by a range of stakeholders, including local government representatives, consultants, installers, Community Energy stakeholders and other interested parties. As part of the feedback, 81% of those who responded said they found the workshop ‘very useful’ or ‘useful’, the remaining 19% were neutral, such that no-one was dissatisfied with the experience.

As the UK continues its transition towards a fully decarbonised transport system, we will continue to play our part, hosting engagement events that focus on how we are supporting the continued uptake of EVs and other low carbon technologies.