Concerns are growing over how the UK monitors compliance with its 99% EV charger uptime regulations.
At the heart of the issue is transparency.
Charge point operators currently self-report their compliance data, while enforcement sits with the Office for Product Safety and Standards. But questions remain around:
What actually counts as “uptime” How failures are recorded And who is ultimately responsible when charging doesn’t work
Because charging reliability isn’t just about the charger itself. Successful sessions depend on:
- Vehicle software
- Communications protocols
- Payments systems
- Grid connectivity
- Backend platforms
In other words: it’s a system, not a single component.
The EV Café takeaway
The industry has improved massively, but measuring reliability in a way that’s fair, transparent and meaningful is still incredibly difficult.
“You only know that because I’m telling you that, and you’ll have to believe me.” Sam Clark
“There are tens and tens and tens of different things that have to work in that split second when you plug in.” Sam Clark
“We’re only as good as the weakest part of the system.” John Curtis
“The charger says it’s on, but we know it’s not going to work. So how is that still considered up?” Sarah Sloman
“I think we’ve uncovered a bit of a problem.” Sarah Sloman