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The recent upgrading of Electric Vehicle Charging Points across Newry City has been welcomed by MLA Justin McNulty who says this is only the beginning of electric vehicle infrastructure.
Speaking on the opening week of the COP26 Climate Change Conference the Newry and Armagh representative stated, "I am pleased to confirm that this week saw the completion of two further location upgrades at the Quay’s Shopping Centre and Monaghan Street in Newry. This follows the earlier technological upgrades in other areas of Newry including Hill Street, Bagenal’s Castle and Bridge Street charging stations.
"My offices in both Newry and Armagh have received dozens of contacts from EV drivers who were simply frustrated with reliability issues with parts of the electric vehicle charging network in Newry and Armagh and indeed across the North.
The MLA added "After consultation with ESB with the support of SDLP Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon it was revealed due to the age of many of the existing chargers, most of which were installed almost 10 years ago, they were no longer supported by the original manufacturer and could not be fixed despite the best efforts of their maintenance contractors. I was delighted to confirm earlier this year that ESB were replacing 30 fast or 22kW AC chargers and a number of rapid chargers to improve the overall network.
"This will be music to the ears of the many motorists who have made the environmental and economically conscious decision to switch from a traditional ICE vehicle to one which is powered by electric.
"The completion of this week’s works leave just one public charge point in Newry to be upgraded (Canal Court location) and I will be making representations to ensure this too is upgraded. As I say though, I do recognise that this is only the beginning."
McNulty concluded "My party leader Colum Eastwood MP has recently introduced his Bill at Westminster which expedites our journey to net zero. Electric Vehicle use and ultimate market takeover will be crucial in achieving this, and further expansion and growth in EV charging infrastructure is imperative to it's success as a whole.
"I will continue to work tirelessly alongside my SDLP colleagues in Councils, Stormont and Westminster to ensure EV drivers of both present and of the future see rapid expansion of Electric vehicle charging points across the North.”
