18 December (Part 1) - New vehicles electric only by 2030? Fat chance with attitudes like this!
It’s too early to return to the subject of electric vehicle chargers
isn’t it but tough luck that is what is coming and all Greenwich based too.
A
few yards to the West of the old Abbey Wood Post Office Greenwich Council allowed a
company called Source London to put in two 7kW charging posts alongside a power unit which emits an annoying hum.
zap-map.com is the website which lists every electric vehicle charger in the UK
and beyond together with the technical details and the all important tariff.
The chargers in Abbey Wood Road fail to say what the tariff is and it is not
hard to guess why. It is utterly ridiculous.
zap-map says that the charge is not for electricity used but the time for which
the charge point is used. The more powerful of the two chargers will put in more than six
kilowatt hours of electricity in an hour. No charger is 100% efficient so not seven kilowatt hours, however
Source London in their wisdom restrict the stay to 20 minutes according to
zap-map so a charge will max out at £1·40. (20 minutes at seven pence per minute.)
How is that enforced? No idea!
And how far will two kilowatt hours (third of six an hour) of electricity (less if the battery is cold) take you? If you are really
careful in an efficient car it might just about get you to Bexleyheath and back if Knee
Hill doesn’t get the better of your battery. No wonder they had not been used for a week when I checked.
Things
are silly in a different sort of way the other side of the railway line.
There are six charging posts in the Sainsbury’s car park, 2 x 7kW on each and
all free to use for up to three hours. Unfortunately six have been broken since June, maybe earlier.
None of them are any longer secured to the floor and you can pick them up and
play with the cable if you are silly enough. (Photo 1 left leaning over but working.)
Someone lifted one right out of the ground and tossed it to one side. (Photos 2.) I have told the charging company three times
including yesterday and three times they have said that they will get straight
out there to make them safe. Almost needless to say there has been no improvement whatsoever.
Yesterday morning I saw one of the local scroats peeing on the one in the darkest
corner. Maybe it will take an electrocution to get some attention.