ChargePlace Scotland is the name for the national electric vehicle charging infrastructure for Scotland, but we are so much more than just a name.
Based at the Michelin Scotland Innovation Park (MSIP), Dundee, ChargePlace Scotland is the nerve centre of one of the most complex EV charging networks anywhere in the world.
To back up that bold claim let’s have a look at what makes up the ChargePlace Scotland Network.
The network is made up of over 2,300 chargers, owned by over 400 different charge point owners. All 32 local authorities have chargers, as do independent businesses – from the Scottish Borders to the islands with our most northerly chargers on Unst.
To be included on the ChargePlace Scotland network chargers must have been publicly funded. Ownership of the chargers rests with the organisation that applied for and received the funding.
So, to be clear, ChargePlace Scotland do NOT own any charging infrastructure and have no responsibility for the servicing, maintenance or repair of chargers.
Our job is to provide the system that connects the chargers, into a network and to take care of customer interactions, from billing through to provision of support when charging. We collate fault information provided by drivers, and our own systems, and pass rapidly to charge point owners and maintenance providers for speedy investigation and resolution.
We provide the ChargePlace Scotland website and the iOS and Android apps to enable account management, information provision and charges to be started and stopped.
We deal with telephone enquiries (24/7) and emails from charge point owners and drivers and provide a social media presence.
ChargePlace Scotland also provide data on our performance to Transport Scotland to ensure that we deliver our services to the required standard. To date we have scored an 93% satisfaction rating from customers, with over 30,000 taking part rating the charging experience good or average.
We had a team of 18 staff at MSIP with a additional recruited to provide enhanced and improved performance, bringing the total of new full time permanent jobs to 30. All of our team members go through an extensive and ongoing training to enable them to provide the best service to charge point owners and EV drivers.
(Updated figures August 22)