The Charge Collective work involves carrying out research to assess the opportunities for flexibility services from public on-street EV charging infrastructure. The aim of Charge Collective is to develop a framework to overcome barriers to investment in public charging by reducing network costs and providing support to investors through collaboration with local authorities. More information about the project can be found on the UK Power Networks website.
Flexibility services (e.g. smart management of EV charging in response to demand on the local electricity distribution network) from public charging infrastructure have the potential to cost-effectively enable charge point investment, however, there is little research on the practical implications of such schemes. Consumer attitudes to public smart charging must be understood to fully assess the feasibility and likely size of benefits. This research will help UK Power Networks understand the barriers and opportunities and what the future of public charging flexibility might look like.
To assess consumer attitudes towards flexible on-street charging, we plan to host focus groups where we can gain direct feedback. In order to get sign ups, would it be possible for you to share a short survey with residents (either via a contact list or social media)? These surveys would be short (<5 minutes), including questions on EV ownership, as well as availability to attend focus groups. No personal data beyond name, email address and location (local authority) will be collected. These contact details will not be used for any other purposes than the invitation to the follow-up focus group. We appreciate the sensitivity required when engaging with residents, so the focus groups would emphasise the exploratory nature of our research and would not refer to the charging infrastructure plans of Peterborough.
Please use the below link to access the survey