UK fleet service Paua signs Gridserve into roaming deal

Paua, a roaming provider specialising in UK fleets, has added Gridserve to its network. Paua users may now charge at Gridserve’s growing Electric Highway network. This is in addition to partnerships with leading providers such as Osprey, Fastned, Ionity, or Mer.

The new deal with Gridserve allows drivers to find, charge and pay for charging using the Paua services. For fleet managers, Paua points out; it can streamline their charging process and track usage and receipts in one place instead of managing multiple accounts and payment methods for various charging networks.

However, Paua does not offer standard charging rates since pricing remains at the CPOs’ discretion, especially regarding DC charging. However, the start-up raises fees for its services, such as billing and access, which start at £3 per driver per month. The ‘Occasional’ tariff was free but incurred a 20% service charge on transactions.

Gridserve reportedly inherited the Electric Highway network launched by Ecotricity in June 2021. Most charging stations are located at Moto rest stops. Since the acquisition, Gridserve says it invested “tens of millions of pounds” to develop the new Electric Hubs and replace the 300+ existing AC motorway chargers it took from Ecotricity. The company reported completing the upgrade in April 2022.

In addition, Gridserve is working to open so-called Electric Forecourts, ultra-rapid charging hubs that enable up to 36 EVs to be charged simultaneously with up to 350 kW.

In April 2023, Gridserve also became one of the founding members of ChargeUK, alongside international players such as BP Pulse, ChargePoint, Fastned, Ionity, Mer, and Shell Recharge.

These companies announced investments totalling more than £6 billion. Tens of thousands of new chargers are to be built before the end of 2023 to double the size of the national charging network by the end of this year.

Info on Paua partnership via email.