The company said it will continue to install 3kW wallboxes at no cost to the end user, including six months’ membership to the POLAR charging point network and free online usage monitoring, which usually costs £20 per year.

An extension of the original Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme, OLEV provides 75% of the cost of a charging point up to the cost of £900, rather than the original £1,000 cap.

Recipients must either own or have a plug-in vehicle on order, and the scheme will run until the 31st March 2015, or conclude when the £9m funding has allocated.

Chargemaster is the first charging point manufacturer to announce it will continue to offer wallboxes under the new scheme, and these include a choice of tethered Type 1 (J1772) or Type 2 (Mennekes) leads, or a Type 2 socket, with faster 7kW units available for a £95 upgrade.

British Gas, which had been supplying and installing free Chargemaster wallboxes under the old scheme, is now charging £115 for the service as a result of the reduced funding, while Renault is continuing to offer 7kW units with a ZOE, but only to retail customers. 

David Martell, Chargemaster’s founder and chief executive, said: ‘Chargemaster is not only subsidising the cost of the domestic unit, but also giving electric vehicle buyers greater flexibility to charge away from home with six months’ free access to the national POLAR Network. Being able to see one’s electricity usage at home and in addition across the POLAR network is all part of the high level of service that Chargemaster offers to support EV car buyers.

‘The ability for electric car drivers to have easy access to charging at home and across the UK is key to the reduction of carbon emissions nationally, as well as improving air quality, particularly in urban areas, so we are delighted to be doing our bit.’