New UK EV regulations

New UK EV regulations

If you’ve been following the EV industry in the UK then you’re likely well aware of the new laws that came into effect from the end of June.  The “Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021” are the latest laws to regulate and standardize the sale of private EV chargers across the UK.

Autel has been preparing for the rollout since the better part of 2021 and is happy to say that all our chargers sold in the UK are compliant with these new regulations.  A brief summary of the regulations are outlined below.  Please note, these are just quick summaries of the regulations and should not be interpreted as the official definitions.  For the full regulations please visit:

The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021

AUTEL Statement of Compliance

1. Smart functionality:  This requirement basically states the product needs to have an interface, is able to send and receive information and be able to respond with signals, such as changes in charging power or time.  Lastly, Demand Side Response services capability is necessary.

2. Electricity supplier interoperability:  This requirement states that even when changing an electricity supplier, the charger must be able to maintain smart functionality.

3. Loss of communications network access:  This requirement is to make sure the charger can continue to charge even without being connected to a communications network.

4. Safety:  This requirement is based on making sure an owner or end-users cannot override default charging during the default charging hours, DSR services, randomized delay, or anything that could risk the health of safety of said person.

5. Measuring system:  This requirement makes sure that similar to a petrol station pump, you are able to accurately understand how much energy is being used and the ability to view this calculated electrical power information through a network communication.

6. Off-peak charging:  This requirement is simplified down to, a charger must have default hours set, and an owner must be able to override them if desired.

7. Randomised delay:  This requirement was designed to ease the load on the grid so that at any one time there aren’t thousands of people trying to charge.  A delay is set which randomizes the start time ensuring no big spikes in energy that could cause issues with the grid.

8. Security:  This requirement comes into effect on December 30th 2022 and is related to the physical security of the internal components and prevention of potential cyber-attacks among others. 

9. Assurance:  This requirement is assuring the consumer that their charger meets the above aforementioned regulations through a statement of compliance and technical file as well as keeping records of all sales for 10 years from the starting date of these regulations.