Electric car owners need to be aware of a major change to the law that comes into force today.
The new rules follow the Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations that came into force in June 2022 which required all home and workplace chargers to have smart charging capability.
This allows drivers to select when they charge their car to make sure it has enough energy for when they need it.
The latest revision is in regard to the "security requirements" for individual charger points and says that anyone installing an at-home charger point for their electric car must now make sure it has "smart functionality".
The Government says these regulations help make sure charging points give protection to the electricity system and an extra layer of safety for the personal data of the owner.
The legislation defines an electric charger point as having a “smart functionality” if it has the ability to send and receive information and respond to this information by increasing the rate or time at which electricity flows through the charge point.
There must also be a measuring system to calculate how much electricity is imported or exported and how long charging lasts, with information visible to the owner.
In a bid to protect people's personal data, owners of charger points must ensure that the charge point has a unique password that is not set by them or a default password.
The Government has appointed the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) as the enforcement authority for these regulations.
For those selling EV charger points, the OPSS will be able to award civil penalties to those who are caught selling charger points which do not comply with the current laws.
In the legislation, a maximum penalty of £10,000 will be given per charge point sold for non-compliance, and a fine of £250,000 will be given for obstruction of officers and false statements.
Installers wishing to fit non-compliant EV chargers will have to seek prior approval from the Office for Product Safety and Standards from today's date,
The Government have outlined how the new rules will affect both electric car owners and charger point operators and how both can comply with the new regulations on the GOV.UK website.
The Government has been planning to regulate EV charge points sold in England, Wales and Northern Ireland since 2019 to manage the increase in demand for electric motors.
