Motorists living in a popular UK region can now take advantage of a major pavement rule update, and could save up to £4,000. Surrey County Council has joined forces with Kerbo Charge, which will allow electric car owners to fit pavement gullies outside their homes. The new programme will ensure motorists without access to their own driveway can take advantage of cheaper domestic charging rates, saving money on costly public charging bays. The gullies are specially designed to fit cables running from homes to electric models parked on the street. Each is specially designed with a lid to prevent pedestrians from tripping over.
Residents interested in securing a cable will need to pay a £499 fee. However, experts have stressed this is down from £1,000 thanks to Government funding. Matt Furniss, cabinet member for highways, transport and economic growth at Surrey County Council explained: “EV charging needs to be accessible for all Surrey residents, not just those with a driveway.
“I’m delighted we’ve been able to launch this scheme to help people access home charging for their EVs. Alongside the 500 on-street EV chargepoints we’ve installed across Surrey, we’re making EV ownership a real option for more people – helping to make Surrey a greener, cleaner place.”
Surrey County Council has previously tested the system, trialing the Kerbo Charge equipment at 12 sites across the county back in 2024. Kerbo Charge has stressed that home charging can help Surrey drivers save up to £4,000 annually compared to using public bays.
Charging an electric car at home can typically cost anywhere from around 7p to 25p per kWh, depending on the individual tariff.
However, topping up an electric car in public can be a lot more costly, with road users paying anywhere from 55p to 95p per kWh.
Kier Mather, minister at the Department for Transport, stressed that motorists will now be able to save over 50% on the cost of installing cross-pavement charging solutions.
Michael Goulden, co-founder at Kerbo Charge, said hundreds of residents were already excited about the new scheme.
He said: “We’re delighted to see over 100 applications in the first 24 hours of the scheme opening – this is simply about offering more choice to residents about how they charge their car and removing barriers to EV adoption.”