£20 to ‘fill’ electric car in Welshpool

Powys County Council has revealed that it will cost around £20 to ‘fill-up’ an electric car when Welshpool’s new chargers are made available to the public.

The council has installed ‘fast’ charge points at towns across the county’s car parks, with the first two locations going live this week at Mount Street Car Park, Llanidloes, and the Maengwyn Street Car Park, Machynlleth.

These 'fast' charge points are capable of fully charging an electric vehicle in three to four hours, dependent on the type and number of vehicles plugged in at the time. Each car park has two charge points, each with two charging sockets, allowing four vehicles to charge simultaneously at each location.

Welshpool’s charge points are located at the canal end of Church Street Car Park. There will be an 85p connection fee and 25p will be charged for every kWh of electricity used. With four hours of parking costing £4 it means that a 60kWh electric car would cost £19.85 to charge fully from empty batteries.

Cllr Heulwen Hulme, cabinet member for the environment, added: “We are very excited that the first of our planned Powys wide network of electric charging points are now live and ready to use.

“Provided by the council for the benefit of residents and visitors, these new charging points will help to facilitate our transition to a low carbon future and provide more accessible charging facilities across the county.”

The electric vehicle charging project was funded by The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and Powys County Council and delivered in conjunction with Silverstone Green Energy. The charging points are all owned by the council and are on the Dragon Charging Network. Users will need an account with either Dragon Charging or Genie Point to access the connection.

Other charge points will be located at Back Lane Car Park, Newtown; Hereford Street Car Park, Presteigne, High Street Car Park, Llandrindod Wells, Groe Car Park, Builth Wells, and Watton Car Park, Brecon.

For more information on how to use the electric vehicle charge points and the charges, visit https://en.powys.gov.uk/evcharging

PICTURE: Representatives from Powys County Council, Llanidloes Town Council, Llanidloes Car Club and Powys Safety Solutions unveiling the electric vehicle charging point at Mount Street Car Park in Llanidloes.