Lamp post charging back in play after advice review

Local authorities in London and the south east had been advised to cease installing charge points on legacy lamp post columns, as the wiring had been deemed too thin to support the load. However, after a series of tests carried out by UK Power Networks and charge point operator Shell ubitricity, the network operator has reversed its advice, deeming that 5kW charging can be installed across the older lamp posts.

All 133 local authorities operating in the area UK Power Networks have been given the go-ahead to install 5kW charge points to their lamp posts, which is one of the fastest and cheapest methods to roll out public charging. For a budget of £1m, Shell ubitricity estimates that local authorities could install 700-800 lamp post chargers. The same budget would deliver just 60-75 Fast Dual charge points (7-22kW) or 20-25 Rapid Single charge points.

“Lamp post charging helps local authorities to roll out charging infrastructure at scale and allows EV drivers to charge their cars close to home,” Stuart Wilson, market unit Lead at ubitricity, said in a statement.