THE company that operates the electric car charging points located in towns and villages across Northern Ireland has confirmed that it is proposing to remove the one located in Fivemiletown because it is not being used regularly.

However, Irish energy company ESB, which operates the ecar NI charging point network on behalf of NIE, has stressed that it is not being taken away completely, rather it is being moved to another location where there is “greater demand”.

At the monthly meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Erne East representative Thomas O’Reilly, had raised his concerns over the proposals to remove the charging point from Fivemiletown.

He further told the meeting that the network operator should be looking at ways of increasing the number of charge points and encouraging more people to use electric cars.

Responding to the concerns over the future of the network, ESB has confirmed that a review is being carried out on the usage and location of some charge points in Northern Ireland.

The company revealed that it is proposing to move around eight charge posts in total in Northern Ireland which are being “under-utilised”, including the one in Fivemiletown, to other locations where there is greater demand.

Under the plans, the charging point in Fivemiletown will be moved to Belleek, which currently has an existing charging point.

A spokesperson for ESB said: “The usage of charge points varies significantly and is impacted by its location in a town, the number of electric vehicles nearby and its proximity to other charge points.

“In the case of Fivemiletown, there are other charge points nearby at locations in Maguiresbridge and Ballygawley which may be a reason for its low usage.”

The spokesperson added: “We believe that this programme will improve the overall service provided by the network by more closely aligning the supply of electric vehicle chargers with actual electric vehicle driver charging needs.”

Fermanagh electric car owner, Gerard Gallagher, said that the existing charging point network, while adequate, needed further funding to be maintained and possibly expanded.

The Lisnarick man, who has driven a Renault ZOE for just over three years, said: “We have a bit of a ‘chicken and egg’ situation with the charging network. More electric vehicles are needed to cut down on emissions to meet government and European standards, but people won’t buy the cars unless the network is in place to get them where they need to go.”

Mr. Gallagher said that the proposal to move underused charging points needed to be taken to continue with the provision of the service.

But he added: “I hope funding can be made available so the service doesn’t degrade.”

There are currently electric car charging points at a number of locations in Enniskillen along with further points in Trory, Maguiresbridge, Belleek, Derrylin, Irvinestown and Florencecourt.

Just outside Fermanagh, there is also a charging point in Dromore as well as the one currently located in Fivemiletown.

ESB ecars operates over 300 charge points in Northern Ireland, out of a total of 1,200 charge points between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

But the energy firm has also revealed that charging infrastructure can be installed by other parties, such as any business or local authority who may wish to do so.

“Any civil and electrical contractor can carry out such works,” the ESB spokesperson added.