Fire Service awarded £390,000 to install electric vehicle charging points

Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service has been awarded a £390,000 government grant to install an electric vehicle charging network across the majority of its buildings.

The grant is part of a £9 million Government investment to boost the number of charging points for electric cars across the country to promote the benefits of ultra-low emission vehicles.　

Station Manager Graham Rooke, who entered the bid, said: “We are really pleased to have received this award. It will help us to reduce our carbon footprint as well as our fuel and maintenance costs for our vehicles.

“We are also planning to open them up to members of the public as part of a network which will enable electric vehicle users to use their vehicles in our more rural locations.”

Graham is currently trialling the use of an electric Vauxhall Ampera car for community safety activities and routine duties.

Electric car owners do not have to pay car tax or congestion charges. The cars cost from just 2p a mile, which means a family that drives an electric vehicle 10,000 miles in a year would save around £1,000 on fuel costs each year.

Launching the project nationally, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "Electric cars are one of the most promising of our green industries and we want to secure the UK’s position as a global leader in both the production and adoption of these vehicles.

"The extremely low running costs of electric cars help drivers save money and we are allocating more than £9 million to boost charge points across the country to help drivers to go green.”