Additional support for plug-in car drivers to recharge their vehicles at home has been announced by Transport Minister Baroness Kramer.

In February 2013, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) launched a £13.5 million grant scheme subsidising householders wishing to install technology to recharge ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) at home.

The original funding for domestic chargepoints has now been fully allocated and, to ensure continued support for both consumers and the industry, a new grant scheme is to be put in place.

Baroness Kramer said: “Uptake of plug-in vehicles is gathering pace and we want to make sure that people thinking about becoming part of this technological revolution have the confidence that they will always have somewhere to charge their car.

“Our scheme has been tremendously popular and we are keen to continue the roll out of chargepoints to driveways and garages across the country. That is why we are launching a successor scheme to help make this important technology as commonplace in your home as a plug for your kettle.

"It will also help create British jobs in the sector, while also cutting driving costs and carbon and improving air quality.”

The mass roll out of domestic charge points made possible by this programme has also made them cheaper over time. This is reflected in the new grant scheme announced today, which will cap support at £900 rather than the maximum of £1,000 available under the previous scheme.

The new scheme will see £9 million made available to:

• Any ULEV owner and also drivers with regular access to one for work who are having a chargepoint installed at their home

• Provide up to 75% of the total cost of the chargepoint and installation, up to a maximum of £900

The new domestic chargepoint scheme will come into effect on September 1, 2014, and will run until March 31, 2015, or until the scheme budget has been exhausted.

The previous grant scheme will expire on June 30, 2014. However, to facilitate existing installation orders the Government is putting in place interim arrangements from July 1 until August 31, 2014, along broadly similar lines to the existing scheme. These will apply until the new scheme starts on September 1, 2014.

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Author: Fleet News