12 Portsmouth on-street electric vehicle charging points reinstated
Almost a hundred chargers, which use power from lampposts, were turned off last month over safety concerns
A dozen of on-street electric vehicle charging points are now available to use in Portsmouth.
Portsmouth City Council took the decision to switch off all on-street charging points in the city in late November, following safety concerns raised by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, but now a first tranche of 12 charging points has been reinstated and is available to use.
The on-street charge points are reinstated at the following locations:
• 120 Wymering Road , PO2 7HY
• 7 St Chads Avenue , PO2 0SA
• White Hart Road, outside Mountjoy Court , PO1 2TX
• King James Terrace, outside 4 Broad Street , PO1 2LL
• Grove Road South, outside Holmbush Court , PO5 3RA
• Crofton Road along side 98 Kirby Road , PO2 0PW
• 9 Havelock Road , PO5 1RU
• 82 Jubilee Road , PO4 0JE
• 72 Dunbar Road , PO4 8EY
• 52 Hudson Road , PO5 1HD
• 49 Sheffield Road , PO1 5DP
• 15 Neville Road , PO3 6HX
It's hoped the next phase of chargepoints will be reactivated soon.
Over the last few weeks Portsmouth City Council and the charge point operators, Joju and ubitricity, have been working with the area's electricity distribution network operator (DNO), SSEN, to share information on the equipment and installations as well as carrying out physical checks. Following this the first chargepoints have been reactivated. 
Inspections have been prioritised for chargepoints that could be turned back on quickest, it is expected some work will need to be carried out on other chargepoints with further inspections required to establish exactly what each chargepoint requires.
All parties involved are working together to get the chargepoints operational as soon as possible.
Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, the council's Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “I'm pleased we've been able to get some of the chargepoints back in action and we're working to get the rest up and running as soon as possible. I know what an inconvenience this is to electric vehicle owners, we're really sorry for the impact it's having and we'd ask everyone to be considerate during this time and consider others when charging their cars."
The charging infrastructure is owned by the council and operated by the installing company who is responsible for liaising with the DNO to ensure safe connection to the electricity network. In Portsmouth the DNO is SSEN, and the council will work in close collaboration with all parties to make any necessary repairs and get more charge points back online while prioritising public safety.
As chargepoints come back online the dedicated parking spaces alongside them will only be available for vehicles that are charging.