The Workplace Charging Scheme OLEV | Charge Point
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The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS)

25th Jan 2018 2 Min Read

The Andersen A1 & A2 is now officially approved by the UK government for the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) OLEV

OLEV (Office for Low Emission Vehicles) has approved the A1 for the Workplace Charging Scheme. Businesses can buy the A1 and benefit from a £300 grant per charge point socket for up to 20 sockets. Why are talking about “socket” and not charge point? Simply because one charge point can have more than one socket. In other words, one charge point can charge more than one car. If the charge point has more than one cable/connector.

WHAT IS THE WCS?

WCS is essentially a grant. The process is a bit more complex than its residential counterpart in a way that it uses a voucher-based system. This voucher can then be redeemed against a number of charge point socket that is being installed. The other consideration to take into account is that all installations under a single voucher must be claimed in a single claim. For example, if your voucher is redeemed after the installation of 3 charge point sockets and your claim is processed then you cannot claim anymore WCS grant even if you initially had a voucher for 5 or 6 charge point sockets.

HOW TO QUALIFY FOR THE WCS?

You must be a registered company, a charity or a public authority and be based in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland. You should also have dedicated off-street parking where charge points can be installed. If you don’t own the property, have consent from the landlord. One other important criteria is the need for electric car charging equipment. If you have a fleet of EVs already then that’s pretty easy but if you don’t you’ll need to demonstrate that you’re encouraging your employees to use EVs. That could be in the form of a reward scheme, preferential rate for EV car leasing or even if you are in the process of choosing a preferred manufacturer for your future EV fleet.

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?

As with every complex process, it’s best to get advice beforehand. Apart from the eligibility criteria set out above, there are also technical considerations to take into account: where will the charge points be located? is there enough power supply for all the charge points? what is the configuration of the site? etc… Manufacturers and installers can help to guide you through this process and take the best approach to benefit for the grant and also make your fleet greener! For more information about the WCS, please check the OLEV WCS guidance on the OLEV website.

author

Jérôme Faissat

Jérôme is the boss of Andersen’s day-to-day managerial and service delivery. With extensive experience of retail system development and property and financial services, Jerome has an eye for quality and control. When he’s not mapping the future, he loves to talk to customers, drink French wine or speak Mandarin. He even finds time to walk his two dogs in the evenings.