WPD tells MPs at Westminster: We are making electric vehicles a reality

MPs at Westminster have been hearing about the work we are doing to prepare the UK energy network for the electric vehicle revolution.

The WPD Takes Charge event at the House of Commons was attended by more than 50 Parliamentarians and was hosted by Matt Western, MP for Warwick and Leamington and Chair of the APPG on Electric Vehicles, in partnership with WPD.

WPD CEO Phil Swift delivered the keynote speech in which he outlined how we are building the vehicle charging infrastructure of the future, designed to support a predicted three million EVs across our network by 2023.

To help meet the Government’s proposed target to end the sale of all new non-electric vehicles by 2035 or even earlier, we are pioneering AI-enabled technologies to create smarter, fast charging solutions. Research has suggested that switching all the vehicles on the road to electric vehicles is the same as asking the UK electricity network to power London 14 times over.

New technologies and techniques developed by our Innovation team are already helping to integrate EVs into the energy network. The Electric Nation project, one of the biggest domestic EV trials in the world involving more than 700 vehicles, transformed the industry’s understanding of how people use and charge their vehicles, helping to inform new and more effective charging solutions. The findings from Electric Nation will be used as the basis for this year’s follow-up Electric Nation: Powered Up project and the DC Share programme, both of which aim to make rapid charging easier while keeping customer costs down.

Commenting on the Westminster event, Matt Western MP said: “It was fantastic to hear how WPD is working to facilitate the electric vehicle future across its network area. As Chair of the APPG on Electric Vehicles, I know how important EVs are to the UK’s aim of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. I look forward to seeing future innovations from the WPD team over the coming months.”

Roger Hey, WPD DSO Systems and Project Manager, said: “WPD is building the network charging infrastructure of the future which is essential to the rapid decarbonisation of transport and to delivering the UK’s net zero ambitions. For many years, we have led the way in connecting renewable generation to our network and we are ready to take the lead again to meet the electric vehicle challenge.

“Our role over the next few years will be to ensure that every EV owner knows that, wherever they go, they’ll always be able to charge up their vehicle quickly, safely and cheaply. I hope we will see the Government announce further measures in the Budget to support the development of EV infrastructure.”