ESB to introduce charge for charging in Northern Ireland
Irish energy company ESB has announced the introduction of a pay-for-use system for its public electric vehicle charging network in Northern Ireland. This means that EV drivers in Northern Ireland will have to pay to charge on the street from the end of April.
Starting from the 26th of April, EV drivers in Ireland will pay to charge their vehicle via one of two available options; a Pay as You Go option and a membership option, with the latter designed to cater to drivers who use the network more than five times per month on average. Prices for the charging process will start at a discounted rate of 46.2p per kWh for drivers who sign up for the £4.99 monthly subscription on a 22kW charger. Unaffiliated drivers will pay 49p per kWh on the same connection. For charging up to 100 kW on a rapid charger, prices of 57.7p per kWh will be charged, while subscribers will pay slightly less at 54.3p per kWh.
Prices top out on the high-speed chargers, with capacities above 150kW power, which will cost 67p per kWh or 63.1p for subscription chargers.
“Pay for use for public charging is now the norm across Great Britain and Ireland. This is a natural step in ensuring we improve the network and maintain high standards for electric vehicle (EV) drivers into the future,” said the head of ESB eCars, John Byrne. “There are more electric vehicles on the road every day, so you know the network, as it is at the moment, is not much bigger than it was 10 years ago. So we need to see that network expand.”
Similarly, ESB had started out with fast charging in Ireland, for which the company had started charging in 2019, which was announced about half a year beforehand. Soon after, ESB began electrifying its own vehicle fleet, replacing its diesel transporters with Nissan e-NV200 vehicles. Last year, ESB then expanded into a new area with micro-mobility by launching an e-bike sharing pilot programme in Dublin.
The new conditions for the charging infrastructure will fund the expansion of the charging network, including doubling the existing numbers of rapid chargers, as well as to “increase the speed of these chargers two-fold from 50kW to 100kW.” Furthermore, five high power charging hubs with a capacity of 200kW will also be built in Northern Ireland.
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