North of Scotland’s £300m EV Charger Boom: What It Means For You (2025–2028)

If you’ve driven the A9 with one eye on your battery gauge, this will be welcome news. Highland, Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray councils have signed a 20‑year deal to overhaul public charging across the North. EasyGo will install 570 new chargepoints by 2028 and adopt/maintain existing council‑owned public chargepoints. In plain terms: more places to plug in, working more of the time.

Here’s what that means for households, landlords and businesses and what to do next.

What’s actually happening

• The plan: 570 public chargepoints by 2028, plus an upgrade of what’s already there (including adoption and maintenance of around 425 existing council‑owned public chargepoints).
• Where they’ll go: commuter routes, rural towns, tourist spots, and places we’ve all complained about being “a bit of a charging desert.”
• Why it matters: fewer anxious detours to find a charger, better reliability, and more fast/rapid options where they make sense.

Why this is good news for drivers

Public chargers are brilliant for trips and top ups. But the cheapest, least‑hassle way to run an EV is still a smart charger at home. On a decent overnight tariff you’re paying pennies per mile, you wake up full, and you’re not stood in the rain waiting for an app to load. If you’ve got solar, we can set your charger to use your own power first.

If you’ve been hesitating, this takes a fair chunk of worry away.

What help’s out there

Grants come and go. Some cover landlords and flats, a few councils add extra help for rural spots. Workplaces can claim towards sockets. Rather than guess, give us your postcode and setup, we’ll check what’s actually open this month and say if it’s worth the hassle. If it is, we’ll do the forms. Support often includes OZEV grants (like the Workplace Charging Scheme and EV Infrastructure Grant) and Scotland’s Home Energy Scotland offerings—availability changes, so we’ll check what applies to you now.

For landlords and factors

People in your blocks are already asking. You don’t need to dig up the whole car park. We’ll run a simple spine, ducts, cable, comms from the intake to the bays that make sense, then fit a board so you can add sockets as more residents get EVs. Access is easy: tap a card or use the app. You see who’s used what and bill fairly. It’s signed off, labelled, and ready to grow.

Start with the two or three bays you’ll actually use this year. Make sure it’s easy to add two or three more next year.

For businesses and places open to the public

Chargers bring folk in. Drivers pick coffee stops, gyms and shops by where they can plug in. A cafe or studio is usually fine with a couple of 7–22 kW AC bays (actual rate depends on the vehicle’s onboard charger). A retail park or roadside stop might want a couple of rapids by the door. We size the kit to how long people stay, not the other way round.

There’s funding that can take the edge off the cost. If you’ve a good roof, solar can cover a chunk of daytime charging. A small battery can shave peaks so you’re not paying over the odds when it’s busy.

What to expect on costs

Public charging is improving, more choice, clearer pricing, but rapid DC will usually cost more than charging at home or at work. Most drivers settle into a simple rhythm and charge at home overnight, use public chargers when you’re heading further afield. Fleets do best with on site charging and load management so vehicles are ready when they need to be.

How we work

We come out and look properly. Where’s the supply? What else is on it? Where do cars actually park? We measure runs, check earthing, look at the board, and speak to the DNO if capacity’s tight. If there’s digging, we plan a route that won’t trip anyone up or flood in winter. We put signs and lighting where people can see them. We set up the software so paying or restricting access is straightforward. Then we test it, document it, and come back if something needs tweaking.

If you’ve already got solar, or you’re planning it, we’ll tie it all together so the system plays nicely.

Where to start

• Homeowners: First EV coming? A smart charger plus an overnight tariff will do more for your bills and your mornings than anything else. With solar, we’ll prioritise your own power first.
• Landlords: Walk the car park with us. We’ll map a backbone that fits the building and add bays where they’ll actually get used.
• Businesses: Book a quick site visit. We’ll right size AC vs rapid, check capacity, and lay out the numbers, including any funding worth chasing.

About Mackie Electrical

We’re based in Scotland and we fit this kit in Scottish weather. Slate roofs, tight cupboards, long runs, sideways rain, we’ve seen it. We’re OZEV‑approved. We turn up when we say we will and we tidy up after.