03 May What you need to know about the New EV Smart Charge Points Regulations
New EV Smart Charge Points Regulations
The world is shunning fossil fuels and moving towards energy-efficient sources. Specifically, in the transport sector, there is a concentrated effort to encourage the use of hybrid or electric vehicles in a bid to reduce pollution. This increase has driven the further development of the charging infrastructure, by introducing smart charging points.
Smart charge points are safe charging systems that share data connections between electric users, charging stations, and operators. The government has established The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 to protect end-users’ personal data and relevant charge points, from a deliberate cyber-attack or malware infection.
What are Smart Charge Points Regulations?
The main components of the set guidelines and requirements that smart charge points should meet are…
Smart functionality
The relevant charging points must have smart functionality, which enables the provision of side response services and a communication network to send and receive information. It can also increase or reduce power supply to respond to information and other signals.
State of the art software
The charging station must incorporate software that can be updated using cryptographic measures. This software protects the system against cyber-attacks and regularly checks for security updates. Additionally, the software must have the capacity to validate the integrity and authenticity of the updates. What’s more, it should be easy for the owner to update without undue difficulties. Therefore, the inputs required to install and operate should also be minimal.
Communications
Every charge point requires robust security measures and should be able to send encrypted communications. The regulations also require the charge points to have adequate protection against physical damage. Specifically, the point should be designed with a tamper-proof boundary that alerts the owner if there is a breach.
Charging point security
Additionally, relevant charge points must have a security log or electronic record showing attempts to:
- Breach the tamper protection boundary
- Gain access
- Or tamper with the relevant charge points
Compliance documentation
Charging points need documentation proving compliance with the regulatory requirements. The information should also show expected problems or concerns, along with reporting processes. Moreover, it should specify the period in which software updates will be provided, give guidance on setting up the charging point to ensure security protection, and present direction on deleting personal data.
Other requirements include
- The charging point should be configured such that default charging hours are outside peak hours (8 am-11 am weekday and 4 pm to 10 pm weekend).
- The smart functionality must continue even with a change of electricity supplier.
- The owner must have a register of charge point sales in the past ten years.
You can find the full guidance for electric vehicle smart charge points through the government website here… https://www.gov.uk/guidance/regulations-electric-vehicle-smart-charge-points
Get in the know as all guidelines will come into force by 30th June 2022.
