The government has announced plans to cut red tape and make it easier to install on-street electric vehicle (EV) chargers and cross-pavement charging solutions.

The new measures were announced as part of a wider package of energy and cost-of-living measures introduced by the government as it aims to “double down, not back down, on our mission for clean energy” in the face of the Iran conflict.

Currently, many EV owners who park on the street outside their homes run a charging cable across the pavement. They do this because using at-home chargers means they can take advantage of cheaper overnight domestic tariffs, rather than relying solely on more expensive public charging.

However, running a cable over a busy pavement poses a safety hazard for pedestrians. A safer option is to install a gully that runs cables below the pavement. However, to install such a gully often requires planning permission from the council, which can be a lengthy process. This new rule would remove this requirement.

The government has confirmed that this summer it will “legislate to introduce permitted development rights to expand EV charging provision, allowing for cross-pavement charging solutions and associated charging points”.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband introduced the measures in a speech given on 21 April at Westminster as part of the Good Growth Foundation’s National Growth Debate event. 

At the start of his speech, Miliband said: “This government believes that clean energy is the great industrial and economic project for our country in the 21st century.

“In response to recent events, our actions must now be faster, deeper and more wide-ranging if we are to protect our security and bring down bills for good.”

The measures are aimed at at strengthening energy security, cutting costs, accelerating the shift to low-carbon technologies and breaking the link between gas and electricity prices. Some of the measures include an increase in the Electricity Generator Levy to raise the windfall tax on electricity generators; bigger grants for households using heating oil and liquefied petroleum gas to switch to heat pumps; solar panels for schools and colleges; plans to expand renewables across public land; overhauling of planning, land access and grid connection processes; easy access to heat pumps and plug-in solar; and £90m in investment to help expand heat pump manufacturing. 

Miliband said: “As we face the second fossil fuel shock in less than five years, the lesson for our country is clear: the era of fossil fuel security is over, and the era of clean energy security must come of age.”

Chris Norbury, CEO of E.ON UK, said: “We welcome the government’s decision to decouple gas from the price of electricity. For too long, the value in our energy system has flowed to those at the top of the chain. Today’s move starts to turn that around. 

“We also welcome the planning reforms announced today. The real way to make sure communities benefit directly from clean power is solar on the roofs of our schools, hospitals and public buildings or extending access to innovative projects like our solar sharing communities. That’s clean power delivered where people live and work without unnecessary infrastructure costs, cutting bills for the services they rely on and a benefit communities can see and feel.”

Madeleine Gabriel, mission director for Nesta’s Sustainable Future Mission, said: “Doubling down on clean heat and energy is the right move to protect the UK from further fossil fuel shocks. The only durable way to protect households and the public purse from energy crises is to reduce our structural dependence on gas and oil.”