Electric vehicle (EV) cable channel

Electric vehicle (EV) cable channels at a glance

An EV cable channel is a channel installed in the pavement that lets you safely charge your EV from a home EV charger if you don’t have a driveway or garage.

You must apply to Oxfordshire County Council to have an EV cable channel and a licence. The licence allows you to run an EV charging cable through the channel to charge your car.

Not all properties are suitable for an EV cable channel – you should check your eligibility before you apply. 

Costs

• £300 upfront (installation and first two years' licence)
• Around £100 annually after year two to renew your licence

The cost is heavily subsidised by grant funding from the Office for Zero Emissions and Department for Transport. 

Your responsibilities

If your application is approved, you must agree to the licence terms and conditions.

You must also be prepared to arrange and pay for: 

• Planning permission from your district council to install an EV charger at home
• EV charger installation (government grants are available, see below)
• Updating your car/home insurance to cover you for any third-party liability in case of damage/injury caused by using your EV charger or cable on the street (minimum £5 million) 
• Annual electrical safety checks on your home EV charger

Eligibility

You can apply if:

• The road outside your property is a public highway (you can check this on the Map of streets we maintain)
• You do not have off-street parking (i.e. a driveway, garage or parking court)
• You can park safely and legally on the road directly outside your property with no parking restrictions
• You live at the property, and you have permission from the owner to install an EV charger
• You have somewhere outside your house to install an EV charger so that it doesn’t stick out over the pavement (footway)
• There is only a pavement between your property and the road; no grass verges, trees or barriers
• The pavement is 2 metres wide or less and at least 70mm higher than the surface of the road
• There is no other EV cable channel, streetlight or other electrical equipment on the pavement or road within 7.5m of where you want the EV cable channel installed

Important to consider: An EV cable channel may not be right for you if:

• You cannot regularly park outside your property
• You are unable to meet the insurance or legal requirements

EV charging equipment standards

Check with a registered electrician that you can have an EV charging point installed before you start your application

• Your charger must be a domestic EV charger which supplies 7.5kw or lower
• You must use an EV charging cable with a diameter of 16mm or less to make sure it fits into the channel
• All EV chargers must be installed to meet the minimum safety standard requirements of the government chargepoint specification for households with on-street parking
• You must never use an extension cable or a 3-pin plug EV charging cable

Application and installation process 

The application process has six stages:

1. Check eligibility and apply online 

Read the guidance and check you are eligible before you apply to avoid disappointment. You will need; 

• Permission from the property owner to have an EV charger installed 
• Confirmation from a registered electrician that you can have an appropriate EV charger installed
• Measurements of the pavement outside your property where you want the channel installed
• Photographs marked up to show where you want the channel installed

2. Site visit 

We will visit your site and tell you if your application is successful within eight weeks. You do not need to be at home.

3. Get your planning permission and update your car/home insurance 

If your application is successful, you will need to obtain planning permission for your home EV charger and arrange your insurance. Planning permission can take around 12 weeks. We will send you a guide to help you.

4. Provide evidence and payment 

Use the link we send you to provide details of your planning permission, insurance, and make your payment online.

5. Installation of EV cable channel 

We will install your EV cable channel within 4-6 weeks

6. Install your home EV charger and start charging from home

Arrange for your EV charger to be installed and send us a copy of the installation certificate (EICR) within six weeks of your EV cable channel being installed.

If you fail to do so, your licence will be suspended, and your EV cable channel may be disabled 

After we receive the certificate, you can start using your EV cable channel to charge your EV at home.

The government provides EV chargepoint grants for households with on-street parking

Annual licence renewal

You will need to renew your licence annually. 

To do this, you must provide your insurance details and the certificate from your annual EV charger electrical safety check. 

After year two, you will also need to pay an annual renewal fee of around £100. We will send you a reminder every year before your renewal is due.