SOUTH Belfast Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw has welcomed plans to upgrade the city's electric vehicle charging network during the summer months.
The Electric Supply Board (ESB) has announced the first 15 of 30 AC chargers to be replaced in the North including several in Belfast.
Charging points in Lower Crescent, Cromac Street, Hope Street North and Little Donegall Street are also set to be replaced.
Five rapid chargers will also be replaced in the coming months, and the location of the remaining 15 AC chargers will be released later in the summer.
“I am glad that we are seeing some movement on upscaling our Electric Charging Network, especially in our city centre," explained Ms Bradshaw.
UPDATE: Electric vehicle charging points
After raising issues with ESB regarding the poor performance of the charging network in Derry, I am pleased they have agreed to replace the following points in the coming weeks:
⚡ Strand Road
⚡ Victoria Market car park
⚡ Carlisle Road— Sinead McLaughlin (@SMcLaughlinmla) June 2, 2021
"If we are going to see NI make the switch to electric vehicles, we need to ensure that commuters, residents and visitors can charge their car conveniently in Belfast as they go about their business. The AC points being replaced in the Belfast City Council carparks on Cromac Street, Hope Street North and Lower Crescent are a start at least.
“That said, there is still much more work to be done. The current network is not fit for purpose and we have a long way to go to catch up with our neighbours on these islands. The UK government is to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, and we need the Infrastructure Minister to be more ambitious going forward.
"Northern Ireland has the lowest per capita number of electric vehicle charging points across the UK regions – we can’t accelerate the shift to zero vehicle emissions without this critical infrastructure in place."https://t.co/hp0AlQTdfN#EVANI @NIChamber @News_Letter pic.twitter.com/VWtweASqp3
— EVANI - Electric Vehicle Association NI (@nievowners) April 20, 2021
“To meet the demand and to make electric vehicles more viable, we will need residential on-street points and more rapid chargers at service stations and transport corridors. ESB has been clear with me that the system is quite old now and needs a full upgrade, otherwise a lot of money will be spent on repairing the current network.
“In our Green New Deal, the Alliance Party is advocating interest-free loans on electric vehicles and accelerated installation of charging points. We also want to remove any barriers that are inhibiting a comprehensive roll-out. We should recognise that transforming to a green-friendly economy will certainly be challenging, but the benefits of investing in green infrastructure will be felt for years to come.
