The UK government must make sure the National Grid can cope before incentivising electric cars, says the CEO of a UK electric contractors' body.

Steve Bratt, group CEO of the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), said he welcomed the Electric Vehicle (EV) grant but warned that the right infrastructure had to be in place before EVs could be successful. " This means having enough charging points throughout the country; all with a common installation standard, to ensure that they work properly."

Bratt goes on: “If this initiative is successful, and the number of EVs on the road does increase significantly, it will be vital that the National Grid can cope. Without the correct infrastructure, the public could be left stranded as their car runs out of electricity. ”

Bratt concludes: “Before the Government takes steps to incentivise the purchase of electric cars, it first needs to address the issues which stand in the way of their future success. If we’re not careful we could see a rerun of battery cars, which became an object of media and popular ridicule during the 1980s.”

The Department for Transport introduced individual grants of £5000 to purchase electric vehicles (EVs) on January 1, 2011.

The ECA represents 3000 electrical installation companies and provides a focus for the electrical industry in terms of safety, training, qualification, technological development and industry performance.

www.eca.co.uk