Electric vehicle drivers in Shetland need to download a new app and/or order a new charging card by the beginning of March - as the public charging network changes service provider to ScottishPower.
ChargePlace Scotland manages council-owned public charging networks across the Highlands and Islands, and the contract is ending this summer.
Twenty-eight public charge points across Shetland will be changed to ScottishPower. ScottishPower will be responsible for their day-to-day operations, maintenance coordination and customer support. All charging points will remain in their existing locations and Shetland Islands Council will continue to set charging tariffs and manage their energy supply.
ChargePlace Scotland cards will stop working once chargers move to the new network. Contactless payments will also remain on all charging points where the option is available. A pre-authorised payment will be reserved by ScottishPower as part of the charging session. Any difference between the pre-authorisation fee and actual cost is either taken or refunded to the customer.
What you need to do
All EV drivers living in or visiting Shetland should complete these steps by the beginning of March:
- Download the ScottishPower Recharge app - free from the App Store or Google Play Store. The app allows drivers to find chargers, pay for charging and view charging history
- And/or order a new charging card - either a ScottishPower card through the app or a roaming card
Charging cards are an alternative to the app when mobile signal is poor.
ScottishPower has EV roaming agreements with several partners including Allstar, Electroverse, Gireve, OVO Charge, and Zapmap. Drivers can use roaming cards and apps from any of these partners to access ScottishPower chargers and chargers on other networks.
John Simpson is Team Leader with the Council’s Energy Efficiency Team. He says: “The changeover will affect the majority of public charge points on the network.
“There are a number of charge points where migration might not be possible until the units are upgraded in the summer. Our Energy Efficiency Team will provide further details as they become available.”
More information on downloading the app or ordering a new card is available on ScottishPower’s helpline 0800 001 5234.