East Lothian vehicle chargers

Our tariff

Chargers owned and maintained by East Lothian Council have the following peak/off-peak rates:

• 80p / 65p per kWh, £3 minimum fee for High-power Journey chargers (>50kW) 
• 75p / 60p per kWh, £3 minimum fee for Journey chargers (43-50kW)
• 45p / 35p per kWh, £2 minimum fee for Destination and On-street chargers

Peak times are the period between 4-8pm.

The Journey chargers will apply an overstay charge of up to £50 if a vehicle is plugged in for more than 45 minutes, and people who stay too long could additionally be subject to a £100 Penalty Charge issued by our Parking Attendants. These measures are intended to ensure that drivers move on as soon as possible and the space is left available for the next vehicle that needs a rapid top-up.

Our chargers are connected to a variety of networks - click here for a full list. For more information including tariffs and ways to pay, visit the operator’s own website/Apps:

• CityEV
• Char.gy
• Fuuse
• ChargePlace Scotland
• Connected Kerb 

As our Destination and On-street chargers are offered primarily for use by people without the ability to safely charge at home the rates have been set as low as possible while still covering our costs. However it is a fine balance, as it is also important that we not set prices lower than average cost for charging at home. This is to encourage drivers who can re-fuel at home do so, and do not take up space on the public charging network. At the other end of the scale, our Journey charger rates are in line with commercial operators.

East Lothian Council's tariff has been welcomed by EVA Scotland who described our rates as “fair, proportionate, and reflective of the current high energy costs faced in the UK, while continuing to provide flexible, affordable charging across the range of charge points offered”.

We are currently trialling peak/off-peak pricing to reflect the carbon-intensity of the electricity grid and to encourage people to charge their vehicle outwith the 4-8pm period when demand for electricity is greatest and our usual wind, hydro and solar power has to be supplemented with nuclear or by imported carbon-intensive gas- or coal-generated power.

Your price per mile depends on the efficiency of your vehicle, driving style and weather conditions, and you can use this calculator to see how much you could save.

Contactless payment

In addition to the usual payment methods, it is also possible to use contactless payment via credit or debit card at our Journey chargers only. The Destination and on-street chargers do not have a contactless payment facility.

While contactless payment makes charging easier, there are a few points to bear in mind:

• on presentation of a contactless debit or credit card, a pre-authorisation amount is reserved on your card, but not taken from your account - this is then replaced with the actual charge amount and this is usually at the end of the charging session. Occasionally (and this depends on the bank) this may take up to two working days.
• in the unlikely instance of a failed charge, it can also take up to 2 working days for the pre-authorisation amount to disappear

Parking restrictions

Chargers with marked bays are restricted to use by plugged in electric vehicles only, and:

• at Destination chargers a four-hour maximum stay applies during the day (8:30am to 5:30pm) but overnight charging is allowed
• in long-stay car parks such as Park and Ride sites, there are no time restrictions on the Destination charger
• in contrast, spaces at Journey chargers are not expected to be used for 'parking' (drivers will likely remain with their vehicle) and the 45-minute maximum stay is applied 24 hours a day

• All parking restrictions are enforced by parking attendants who can issue a Penalty Charge Notice if a vehicle is parked for too long, or if it is not plugged in.

  Our On-street chargers have no marked bays, and only local parking restrictions apply. As parking is at a premium in many residential streets we do not restricting parking adjacent to our to our on-street chargers to any one type of vehicle, or specify that vehicles should be plugged in.

  These chargers, which will soon make up the majority of our network, are provided close to hotspots of “on-street households” (that is, households that do not have a driveway or other safe place to park and charger at home). They can mainly be found in residential areas, and complement our core of 50+kW Journey and 7-22kW Destination chargers, typically located in off-street locations in town centres and car parks. By the end of 2022 we will have ensured that almost all on-street households are within a short walking distance of at least one public charging site.

  As parking is at a premium in many residential streets we are not restricting the use of the street adjacent to our on-street charger. This potentially means that access to it may be blocked by non-electric vehicles. To monitor this practice, we are deploying parking sensors at a range of sites and have integrated some with our chargers via a partnership with Fuuse. This allows registered drivers to see whether there is a space to park, and not just whether the charger is in use, and provides us with data on parking trends. This innovative technology will be expanded to to alert drivers of opportunities to charge at at nearby core sites.