UK Commercial EV Charging Glossary
UK commercial EV charging terms, plain-English. Last updated 2026-05-21.
If you're scoping a workplace, depot or destination EV charging project for the
first time, the acronyms come at you fast — OZEV, WCS, G99, OCPP, CCS2, kVA. This
glossary defines the 47 terms you'll meet in installer quotes,
DNO correspondence and grant paperwork, with links through to the relevant
guides and
installer directory.
Categories:
Grants & compliance ·
Hardware ·
Electrical & civils ·
Commercial
Grants & compliance
- Building Regulations Part S
- The section of the Building Regulations for England (in force since June 2022) requiring EV chargepoint provision in new and materially-renovated buildings, including most new non-residential buildings with associated parking. Drives a large share of new commercial install demand.
- Depot Charging Scheme
- The 2026 successor scheme to the EV Infrastructure Grant, intended for commercial vehicle depots (vans, HGVs, buses). Funds up to 70% of eligible depot charging infrastructure costs. Applicants apply through an OZEV-authorised installer. See the EV Infrastructure Grant / Depot Charging Scheme guide.
- EV Infrastructure Grant
- A grant funding up to 75% of the cost of infrastructure works (cabling, groundworks) to support EV chargepoints for small and medium-sized businesses. Closed to new applicants on 31 March 2026 and superseded by the Depot Charging Scheme. See the infrastructure grant guide.
- EV-ready
- An informal term for a car park or site where ducting, cable routes and spare electrical capacity have been installed so future EV chargepoints can be added without civils works. Often cheapest done at the time of an unrelated resurface or build, before Part S forces it.
- OZEV — Office for Zero Emission Vehicles
- The cross-Whitehall UK government team (sitting jointly within DfT and DESNZ) responsible for EV and ultra-low-emission vehicle policy and grant schemes. OZEV authorises installers for grant work, runs the WCS and Depot Charging Scheme, and publishes the public installer register this directory is built from.
- OZEV-authorised installer
- A company on the public OZEV register, permitted to carry out grant-funded commercial EV chargepoint installations. Authorisation is a prerequisite for claiming WCS and Depot Charging Scheme funding. Every business listed in this directory is an OZEV-authorised installer.
- Plug-in Van Grant
- A separate vehicle-side grant (not a chargepoint grant) that reduces the purchase price of eligible electric vans and small trucks. Relevant to depot operators because van procurement and depot charging are usually planned together.
- WCS — Workplace Charging Scheme
- A UK government voucher scheme administered by OZEV that contributes up to £500 per socket (raised from £350 on 1 April 2026) toward the up-front cost of EV charging sockets at workplaces, capped at 75% of project cost and 40 sockets per applicant. Closes to new applications on 31 March 2027. Applications must be made through an OZEV-authorised installer. See the WCS guide.
Hardware
- AC charger
- A chargepoint that delivers alternating current to the vehicle; the vehicle's onboard charger converts it to DC for the battery. Typical commercial AC units are 7 kW (single-phase) or 22 kW (three-phase). Cheaper, slower, and the workhorse of workplace and destination charging.
- CCS2 — Combined Charging System (Type 2)
- The standard DC fast/rapid connector used in Europe and the UK, combining a Type 2 AC inlet with two extra DC pins. Effectively the default DC connector on new commercial rapid chargers.
- CHAdeMO
- An older Japanese DC rapid charging standard, still found on some Nissan and Mitsubishi vehicles. New commercial sites usually fit CCS2 as default and CHAdeMO only if the user mix demands it.
- DC rapid
- A chargepoint that supplies direct current straight to the battery, bypassing the vehicle's small onboard AC charger. Typically 50–150 kW. Used where dwell time is short — depot turn-around, en-route, taxi ranks.
- DC ultra-rapid
- 150 kW and above DC chargepoints, increasingly 300–400 kW for HGVs and long-distance cars. Requires substantial grid capacity and almost always triggers a G99 DNO application.
- ISO 15118
- An international standard covering vehicle-to-charger communication, including Plug & Charge (automatic identification and billing on plug-in) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G). Underpins smart-charging features on newer commercial hardware.
- Load balancing
- Dynamically sharing a fixed electrical supply between multiple chargers so the site never exceeds its grid limit. Lets a site install more sockets than its raw kVA would suggest — central to depot design and often the difference between needing or avoiding a G99 upgrade.
- Mode 3
- The IEC 61851 charging mode covering AC chargepoints with a dedicated control pilot circuit — i.e. every standard Type 2 commercial AC charger. Distinguished from Mode 1/2 (domestic socket adaptors, not used commercially).
- Mode 4
- The IEC 61851 charging mode covering DC rapid/ultra-rapid charging, where the charger itself contains the AC-to-DC rectifier and communicates digitally with the vehicle. All commercial DC chargers are Mode 4.
- OCPP — Open Charge Point Protocol
- An open communication standard between chargepoints and back-office management software. OCPP 1.6 is widely deployed; 2.0.1 adds smart charging and ISO 15118 support. Specifying OCPP means a site is not locked into one back-office vendor.
- RFID — Radio-Frequency Identification
- Card or fob-based driver authentication on a chargepoint, linking a session to a user or fleet account in the back-office. The cheap, reliable access-control default for workplace and depot sites.
- Smart charging
- Controlling when and how fast each vehicle charges based on grid signals, tariffs, on-site generation or user need. Mandatory in the UK for most new chargepoints under the Smart Charge Point Regulations 2021. Essential for depot economics and grid headroom.
- Tethered vs untethered
- Tethered chargers have a captive cable; untethered (socketed) chargers require the driver to bring their own. Workplace and fleet sites often prefer tethered for user simplicity; public-access and shared bays often prefer untethered to handle mixed vehicles and reduce vandalism.
- Type 2 — IEC 62196-2
- The standard AC connector used across the UK and EU for AC charging at 3–22 kW. Tethered Type 2 cables are common on workplace units; untethered (socketed) Type 2 lets drivers use their own cable.
Electrical & civils
- Bollard protection
- Steel bollards (or wheel stops + integrated unit) protecting pedestal chargepoints from vehicle impact. Effectively mandatory under most site insurance terms and good-practice guidance for commercial bays.
- Civils
- Trenching, ducting, bay marking, surfacing reinstatement and bollard fitting — i.e. the groundworks portion of an EV install, as distinct from electrical and chargepoint hardware. Routinely 20–40% of total project cost and the line most likely to surprise.
- DNO — Distribution Network Operator
- The regional company that owns and operates the local electricity distribution network — UK Power Networks, SSEN, National Grid Electricity Distribution, NIE, etc. Any meaningful commercial EV install requires a DNO notification (G98) or application (G99).
- Ducting
- The plastic conduit buried during civils to carry cabling between the incoming supply, sub-distribution and each chargepoint. Over-specifying duct count at first install is the cheapest way to make a site EV-ready for future expansion.
- Fuse upgrade
- Replacing the main service fuse on an LV connection with a higher-rated one (e.g. 60 A to 100 A), increasing the site's import capacity. Carried out by the DNO, often at modest cost — the cheapest route to more charging capacity when it is available.
- G98
- The lighter-touch ENA recommendation for small connections — typically up to 16 A per phase per site. Most single AC workplace chargers fall under G98 and need only a notification rather than a full application.
- G99
- The Energy Networks Association Engineering Recommendation governing the connection of generation and larger demand (including most rapid/ultra-rapid chargepoints) to the distribution network. G99 applications can take weeks to months and may trigger reinforcement costs — they are the most common cause of commercial install delay.
- Half-hourly (HH) metering
- Electricity metering that records consumption in 30-minute blocks, mandatory above 100 kW maximum demand and optional below. Underpins time-of-use tariffs, smart-charging optimisation and accurate site load studies.
- kVA — kilovolt-ampere
- The unit of apparent electrical power used when specifying supplies and transformer capacity. A site's available kVA, minus existing demand, sets the ceiling on how much charging it can host without a fuse upgrade or G99 application.
- Load study
- A measurement and modelling exercise — usually a few weeks of half-hourly metering — that establishes a site's real available capacity and utilisation pattern before specifying chargers. Often pays for itself by avoiding an unnecessary DNO upgrade.
- LV / HV — Low Voltage / High Voltage
- In UK distribution, LV usually means up to 1 kV (the standard 400/230 V mains seen at most sites); HV is 1 kV–132 kV. Larger depots, hub sites and ultra-rapid installations may require an HV connection or a private substation.
- MPAN — Meter Point Administration Number
- The 13-digit reference identifying an electricity supply point. Required for every DNO application, tariff change and back-office configuration. A single site may have several MPANs (one per metered supply).
- Single-phase
- A 230 V supply over one live conductor, standard at most homes and small shops. Caps AC charging at around 7 kW per socket. Many small commercial sites are single-phase, which constrains charger choice.
- Three-phase
- A 400 V supply delivered over three live conductors, standard for commercial sites. Required for 22 kW AC and most DC chargers; lets a site host higher-power charging in the same footprint as a single-phase install.
Commercial
- Back-office
- The cloud software that monitors chargepoints, authenticates users, meters sessions, calculates billing and surfaces fault data. Choice of back-office is at least as important as choice of hardware — and OCPP compliance lets the two be chosen independently.
- CPO — Charge Point Operator
- A business that operates and maintains chargepoints day-to-day — monitoring uptime, handling driver payments, resolving faults. A site owner may be their own CPO, or contract a third-party CPO under concession or charging-as-a-service.
- Depot
- A site where commercial vehicles return to base — typical of logistics, bus, taxi, council and trade fleets. Optimal for cheap overnight charging with load balancing, and the core target of the Depot Charging Scheme.
- Destination charging
- Chargepoints at places people stop for a non-charging reason — hotels, retail, leisure, hospitality — where the vehicle is parked for hours. AC 7–22 kW is usually the right fit; ultra-rapid is wasted on a two-hour dwell.
- Dwell time
- How long a vehicle is parked at a chargepoint. The single most important input into specifying charger power: long dwell = AC; short dwell = DC rapid; very short dwell = DC ultra-rapid.
- En-route charging
- High-power public DC charging on or near strategic roads, used during a journey. Dwell time is 10–40 minutes; ultra-rapid DC and strong grid capacity are essential.
- Fleet operator
- A business running its own vehicles — vans, HGVs, company cars, taxis. Typically charges at a depot overnight and tops up en-route. See the fleet charging installers list and the fleet guide.
- Payback period
- The years until net savings (fuel + grant + chargepoint revenue) equal the project capex. Depot retrofits often pay back in 3–6 years on fuel saving alone; public installs depend heavily on utilisation. The cost calculator gives an indicative figure.
- Tariff
- The pricing structure a CPO charges drivers (or a site charges users): pence per kWh, time-based, idle-fees, or a hybrid. For depot fleets, the relevant tariff is usually the wholesale electricity tariff plus time-of-use shaping rather than a public CPO tariff.
- Utilisation rate
- The proportion of a chargepoint's available hours during which it is delivering energy. Drives the payback on any public or commercial install — typical break-even on rapid DC sits in the 12–25% range depending on tariff and capex.
- Workplace charging
- Chargepoints provided in staff or visitor car parks. Eligible for the WCS at up to £500 per socket. See workplace installers.
See also