Boris Johnson to force all new UK buildings to install EV charging points

Owners of newly built homes and commercial buildings will be forced to install electric vehicle charging points from next year under new regulations to be announced by Boris Johnson tomorrow.

The new regulations, which Downing Street says will lead to 145,000 extra charge points installed across England each year, will also extend to properties “undergoing major renovation”.

A Department for Transport (DfT) source said the government would not provide funding for home and business owners to install charging points, but that there would be exemptions in some cases to “ensure that developments remain viable where installations would be disproportionately difficult or costly”.

It comes after Johnson announced last year that the sale of new petrol or diesel cars will be banned from 2030.

There are currently an estimated 25,000 charge points in the UK, according to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Johnson will use his keynote speech at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference to stress the UK needs “to adapt our economy to the green industrial revolution”.

“We have to use our massive investment in science and technology and we have to raise our productivity and then we have to get out your way,” he said.

“We must regulate less or better and take advantage of new freedoms. We will require new homes and buildings to have EV charging points – with another 145,000 charging points to be installed thanks to these regulations.”

Andy Mayer, Energy analyst at the free market Institute of Economic Affairs think tank, said the policy “will lead to enormous waste by mismatching supply and demand”.

“People buying electric vehicles, who are generally more affluent, can afford to buy the sockets. Those buying new homes are not the same people, and many of these gadgets won’t be used,” he said.

“Meanwhile the charging technology is changing all the time, so when actually needed, this old kit may need ripping out.”

Johnson will also announce tomorrow that Innovate UK, a quango with a £1.2bn budget, will carry out a three-year £150m scheme to provide “new flexible and affordable Innovation Loans to help British SMEs commercialise their latest R&D innovation”.

“This programme supports businesses to grow, scale up and create new highly-skilled jobs in the process, including those who would have otherwise been unable to secure private loans,” Downing Street said.