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Top EV chargepoint providers in London | PCO driver guide

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This guide looks at the different charge point providers around London for PCO drivers. Keep scrolling for the makes, the rates, the coverage, and some sign-up info too!

Contents

1.) Intro 2.) Shell Recharge 3.) BP Pulse
4.) Source London 5.) Ubitricity 6.) ESB Energy
7.) GeniePoint 8.) Gridserve 9.) Additional Resources

Intro

As electric PCO cars are set to take the private hire market by storm, we recognise that it’s important to get a good overview of which chargepoint providers are available to PCO drivers.

Most PCO drivers will find that they need multiple chargepoint providers, as they alternate between a charging strategy close to their home and near where they work every day.

Shell Recharge

Shell Recharge for PCO drivers

Who are they?: As you might have guessed, Shell Recharge is Shell’s EV charging network across the UK. They currently have over 100 EV chargepoints across the UK, and they intend to increase this to over 200 by the end of 2021.

Charger Speeds: Shell specialise in Ultra Rapid (150kW) or Rapid Chargers (50kW). They currently have 65 rapids and 43 ultra rapids across the UK.

Types of Charger: Shell Recharge cater for virtually all types of EV. This includes CHAdeMO, Type 2 and CCS chargers.

Quantity: There are currently 49 ultra rapid and rapid charging points across London.

General Coverage: 

Shell Coverage for electric PCO drivers

Price: For the general public the cost will be 41p per kWh.

Membership fees: There are no membership fees with Shell Recharge as they are a pay-as-you-go provider.

How to sign up: PCO drivers can use Shell Recharge using their contactless credit cards, through the Shell Recharge app, or with a Shell Recharge access card.

BP Pulse

BP Pulse for PCO Drivers

Who are they?: Some PCO drivers might remember the names Polar and Chargemaster, since they were originally up there with the largest EV charging networks in London. In 2018, BP acquired both of these companies, and have since launched BP Pulse, which has some of the biggest network coverage in the UK, as well as offering home charging capabilities too.

Charger Speeds: Rapid (50kW) and Ultra Rapid (150kW).

Types of Charger: Depending on the type of charger, BP Pulse should cater to most PCO cars. That includes Type 2, CHAdeMO, and CCS chargers.

Quantity: BP Pulse claim to have over 7000 chargepoints across the UK. It is unclear how many exactly they have in London, but they are definitely one of the companies with the most in the capital.

General Coverage: 

BP Pulse Coverage for PCO Drivers

Price: If you have a monthly subscription with BP Pulse, then PCO drivers will be expected to pay 23p per kWh for rapid chargers, and 27p per kWh for ultra-rapid chargers.

For PCO drivers who do not want to pay the monthly subscription fee, those costs will be 35p per kWh for rapid chargers, and 42p per kWh for ultra-rapid chargers.

Membership fees: In order to access those lower tariffs, PCO drivers will have to pay £7.85 (incl. Vat) each month.

How to sign up: PCO drivers can register their details on the BP Pulse website, or via their app to sign up to the network.

Source London

Source London for PCO drivers

Who are they?: Source London have been around for quite a while in London. They specialise mainly in public chargers that are not rapid or ultra-rapid, preferring to focus on rolling out their on-street charging network with 7kWh and 22kWh chargers. They also have a handy app that allows you to book a chargepoint slot up to 40 minutes in advance.

Charger Speeds: Slow (3.5kW – 7.4kW) and Fast (22kW).

Types of Charger: Source London’s slow chargers will cater for Type 1 and Type 2 chargers, whilst their Fast chargers are Type 2.

Quantity: Source London claims to have over 1500 slow and fast chargers around London.

General Coverage: 

Source London for PCO drivers

Price: Full members will pay 9.5p per minute for slow chargers, and 3.6p per minute for fast chargers.

Membership fees: Full members will be expected to pay £4 per month on their yearly subscription plan.

How to sign up: PCO drivers can sign up via the Source London website.

Ubitricity

ubitricity Charging & Billing Solutions

Who are they?: Ubitricity specialise in lamppost chargers, and they have a large charging network within this space. They currently have over 3000 chargepoints installed across London. These lamppost EV chargers could be a potential solution for PCO drivers that do not have their own driveway charging capabilities, as they can allow you to charge up whilst at home.

Charger Speeds: Slow (5.5kW)

Types of Charger: Ubitricity’s lamppost chargers work for Type 2 charging cables.

Quantity: There are now over 3000 chargepoints spread across most councils in London.

General Coverage: 

Ubitricity chargers for PCO drivers

Price: PCO drivers with a monthly subscription will need to pay a connection fee of 19p per charging session, followed by 16p per kWh.

Alternatively, pay as you go customers can charge up at 24p per kWh.

Membership fees: PCO drivers will have to pay a monthly fee of £7.99 for their subscription.

How to sign up: PCO drivers can find sign-up information on the Ubitricity website.

Did you know: Otto Car recently partnered up with Ubitricity and The Camden Clean Air initiative to support PCO drivers with more on-street lamppost chargers outside their homes. Any PCO drivers that are interested can still submit their details via our EV Charger Request Tool, so that we can try and get a lamppost charger on your street as well!

ESB Energy

ESB for PCO drivers

Who are they?: ESB is a state-owned electricity company headquartered in Ireland. They have provided complete energy solutions for households across the UK, but have also ventured into EV chargepoint solutions in London as well. These are also incorporated within the Shell Recharge charging network as well.

Charger Speeds: In London ESB have mostly rapid chargers (42kW – 50kW).

Types of Charger: Type 2, CHAdeMO, and CCS chargers.

Quantity: It is unclear how many chargers exactly ESB Energy has in London, but from the coverage map below you can see that they have a good spread of rapid chargers around the capital.

General Coverage: 

ESB Chargers for PCO drivers

Price: Pay as you go users will pay 29p per kWh and a connection fee of 50p.

Membership fees: ESB’s monthly subscription fee is £4.99 (incl. VAT) and this will get you cheaper rates from 25p per kWh.

How to sign up: PCO drivers can use their contactless cards if they would like to use ESB’s pay-as-you-go option. Alternatively, you can download their EV plug-in app, which will allow you to purchase their monthly subscription.

GeniePoint

GeniePoint for PCO drivers

Who are they?: GeniePoint (which was previously ChargePoint) became a part of ENGIE in 2019, who specialises in renewable energy sources around the UK and internationally. Since then they have worked on installing multiple EV chargepoints around the UK, with a specific focus on general parking locations such as supermarkets.

Charger Speeds: Fast (7kW – 22kW) and Rapid (5okW)

Types of Charger: Type 2, CHAdeMO, and CCS chargers.

Quantity: It is unclear exactly how many chargers GeniePoint has in London, however from the coverage map below they appear to have a healthy mix of Fast (7kW – 22kW) and Rapid (50kW) chargers.

General Coverage: 

GeniePoint chargers for PCO drivers

Price: Registered GeniePoint drivers will pay 35p per kWh, and guest drivers will pay 39p per kWh. PCO drivers will also pay a £10 overstay charge if they exceed 90 minutes in one of their parking spots.

Membership fees: There are no fees to become a registered GeniePoint driver.

How to sign up: PCO drivers can sign up by downloading the GeniePoint app. You can also find full sign-up info for GeniePoint here.

Gridserve

Gridserve for PCO drivers

Who are they?: Gridserve (previously known as Ecotricity) aren’t centered mainly in London, but we think it’s worth mentioning them as their focus has been on providing EV chargepoints across the UK’s highways. PCO drivers who find themselves on longer journeys could benefit from knowing about them.

Charger Speeds: Rapid (50-60kW) and Ultra-rapid (350kW)

Types of Charger: Type 2, CHAdeMO, and CCS chargers.

Quantity: 300 charging points across the UK.

General Coverage: 

Gridserve chargers for PCO drivers

Price: The average cost to use is reportedly around 30p per kWh.

Membership fees: There are no membership fees required to use Gridserve chargepoints.

How to sign up: PCO drivers that would like to use this service will not be required to sign up, and can use Gridserve chargepoints with most major contactless cards.

Additional Resources 

Want to learn more?

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