Electric vehicle connections

Charging at home

We recommend speaking to an electrician/installer to see if your home wiring is sufficient to support an EV charger, or if you need to apply for an upgrade or new connection. (This is also the same process you need to follow if you are looking to install a ground source heat pump.)

Your installer should have completed an Adequacy of Supply Assessment. If your supply is adequate for the charging point, your installer can notify us of the installation by completing the EV/HP online application.

Once the charger or heat pump is installed, your installer should notify us within 28 days of commissioning.

If your supply is not currently adequate, your installer will need to contact us by phone to request a supply upgrade. Your installer should also contact us if there are concerns over maximum demand or the cut-out.

Charging on street

If you are an installer or local authority looking to install new EV charging equipment you are required to make an application before any installation is made.

When looking to install a new EV charger as standalone charging equipment an application will be required to provide a new connection to our network.

If you are looking to install a new EV charger on to existing unmetered street furniture, such as streetlights, then you must apply to us before you install the charging equipment.

We will check to see if the supply to the street furniture is adequate for the charging equipment, and if not, a quote will be provided with the costs required to upgrade the connection. It is important for us to assess that the network is fit for purpose and can accommodate the increased demand from the new charging equipment.

Installers

It is important that we have visibility of where electric vehicle charging equipment is being connected to help us locate increased demand and ensure the network is fit for purpose. We want to make it simple and easy for you to notify us when you are installing an electric vehicle charging point.

Please note that it is the installer's responsibility to:

• Assess how adequate the electricity supply capacity is for the new electric vehicle load plus any existing load before installing the charging equipment.
• Assess the adequacy of the earthing Before installing the charging equipment.
• Notify us (or another electricity distribution operator) after you have installed the charging equipment within 28 days.
• Check who your local electricity network operator is. Our two license areas cover the south of England and the north of Scotland, but there are Independent Distribution Network Operators who operate within these areas.

If the property does not pass the adequacy test, or you have concerns over maximum demand or the cut-out, you will need to request a supply upgrade.

Accelerating a Green Recovery

Accelerating a Green Recovery recommends ten policy proposals to secure a cost-effective, fair transition to EVs as a key part of the green recovery from the impact of coronavirus. Implementing these proposals can support the UK having the most extensive EV charging network in the world by 2025.

The proposals complement SSEN’s EV Strategy, which sets out the principles we will embed as we support the communities and stakeholders we serve transition to EVs.

Download the Accelerating a Green Recovery report

E-Tourism

SSEN has investigated the potential impacts of tourists traveling in EVs on local network infrastructure and considered solutions for popular destinations and routes in northern Scotland and on the Isle of Wight.  The E-Toursim project noted significant population increases at certain times of the year and as transport becomes electrified, the likelihood that additional demand will appear on the network. Reinforcing the network can be expensive and time-consuming, so this final report investigated alternative, more flexible options.  

Download Isle of Wight E-tourism: alternative solutions to network reinforcement