A SCHEME is aiming to encourage more private businesses to install electric vehicle charging posts by providing the power needed for free.

A drawback for firms installing the posts under the Plugged-in Places initiative is that they cannot charge drivers for the electricity used for the next three years, so would have to pay for it themselves.

To combat this, TADEA, the North-East not-for-profit energy advice service, is offering to install solar panels on firms’ roofs that will cover the electricity used, as well as paying part of the cost of the subsidised charging posts.

Having a national infrastructure of charging points that are easily accessible is seen as vital to ensuring that electric vehicles, which are to become a major North-East industry, take off.

TADEA chief executive Paul Jackson said: “It is a winwin scenario where you put the infrastructure in to kick off demand.

“You wouldn’t have petrol cars without petrol pumps.

You have to have infrastructure to give people confidence.

“We are a social enterprise so we are doing it for the right reasons.”

RMB Toyota’s premises across Teesside, Darlington and North Yorkshire are the first to take advantage of the TADEA offer, with the first panels to be installed at its Stockton branch.

Richard McVay, RMB sales director, said: “For the RMB Toyota premises in Stockton, this demonstrates a win-win situation.

“The additional demand for electricity will be offset by the installation of 30 solar PV panels and we are delighted to be working with TADEA to realise the potential for electric vehicle charging in this region.”

In February, it was announced that the North-East would be one of three initial Plugged-in Places, alongside London and Milton Keynes.

The North-East has been given £7.8m to subsidise the installation of 1,300 charging points during the next three years.

Earlier this week the scheme was extended by the Government and a further 4,597 extra charging points will be installed in the east of England, the Midlands, Greater Manchester, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

On the same day it was revealed that the Toyota Hybrid Plug-In Prius would be one of nine vehicles eligible for a customer subsidy up to £5,000 from next year.