CMA secures commitments from Gridserve unlocking EV motorway charging competition
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured commitments from energy company Gridserve to open up competition on motorways between electric vehicle (EV) charging companies.
As part of the legally-binding commitments, Gridserve has agreed not to enforce exclusive rights in contracts with operators Extra, MOTO or Roadchef after November 2026, therefore reducing its contracts by two and four years with MOTO and Roadchef respectively.
The energy company has also pledged not to enforce exclusives at any of the operators’ sites that are granted funding under the Rapid Charging Fund, a UK Government £950m-fund to upscale EV charging capacity at motorways.
“Gridserve will continue to invest in the much-needed roll-out of charge points across the country but the exclusivity linked to its investment won’t be an undue barrier to others competing in the near future,” said CMA’s senior director of Antitrust Ann Pope.
The news ends an-eight month investigation into Gridserve and its subsidiary Electric Highway’s contracts with the EV charging operators, City PM reported. The CMA was initially concerned about Electric Highway preventing competitors from operating at motorway areas and therefore reducing the choice for EV drivers.