Revealed: Governments £350 Incentive For Electricians

- Coming up on this week's news, the government is to pay electricians 350 pounds to instal EV chargers which cross the pavement, Rishi Sunak announces sweeping changes to the rules on apprentices, and the coolest ever job opportunity for electricians has just dropped. Welcome to "Electrical News Weekly" in association with Solar Trade Sales, your easy one-stop shop for all things solar. Whether you're listening in the van, onsite, or down at the wholesale counter, I'm Joe Robinson, and I've been through the best of the electrical industry news to save you the trouble. And this week's challenge word competition is supported by the good people at Compleo, the complete solution for EV charge point installers. If you think you've spotted the two words that I've been challenged to slip into this week's show, comment with them below for the chance to win a prize. The government is stumping up 350 pounds for electricians to instal EV chargers which cross the pavement. Ministers believe the cash will spark a green revolution by allowing householders without driveways to charge their electric cars. It is specifically for products which allow the cable to cross the pavement safely. These include steel and flexible ducts which sit in gullies cut into the pavement. The grant will cover up to 75% of the cost of the installation, up to a maximum of 350 pounds. It will be paid directly to the installer who is asked to deduct the amount from the final bill to the customer. There are some rules of course. You must register with the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles to be eligible. And to do this, you need to be a member of a competent person scheme or the ECA. You can only instal a charger that's on the government's approved list. And finally, your local authority has to give the thumbs up to the cutting of a gully into their pavement. The 350 pounds can be paid in addition to other grants and subsidies. Michael Goulden, the co-founder of Kerbo Charge, welcome the announcement describing it as brilliant news for the trade. If you're interested, I've popped the link to the scheme in the show notes. Of course, if you're a baronet living in a mansion with sweeping views and a drive for your Rolls-Royce Spectre, it probably won't be such an issue. Still on charging, BP has announced that it is to instal 20 fast chargers for HGVs at the Ashford International Truckstop in Kent. Each will be rated at a hefty 1000 kilowatts. The powerful charge points are being put in place in anticipation of the growth in electric lorries. The company is also putting in ten 400 kilowatt units and a hundred and twenty five 100 kilowatt versions. The plans are subject to power connection availability at the site, but it's hoped that the megawatt beasts will be in place to charge their first vehicle by next year. In other news, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced sweeping changes to the regulations on apprentices. Under the new rules, small to medium-sized electrical contractors no longer need to pay half the cost of apprentices who are aged 21 and under. This will save firms around 2,000 pounds over the four years of an apprenticeship. The government is also raising the amount of funding that companies who are paying the apprenticeship levy can pass onto other businesses. From April, big contracting firms can now share up to 50% of unspent money. Up from the 25% they're now able to transfer to another employer. The government hopes the changes will lead to 20,000 more apprentices. Whether you're an apprentice or a bit longer in the tooth, you'll benefit from our latest free training package to help you with your CPD. It's on the subjective IP and IK ratings on electrical installations, and it's been fully updated to reflect the changes in BS 7671 made by the second amendment to the 18th edition. There's a link in the show notes. You'll get a PDF certificate to prove you've completed the course, and it counts as an hour towards your annual CPD requirement. Another government initiative this month is designed to work out what electrics will look like in the house of the future. It's launched the Future Homes and Buildings Standards initiative, and it's asking the electrical trade what it wants to see in new dwellings. These standards will dictate how we're going to be wiring houses in about two years time. Ministers have already decided that heat pumps will replace gas boilers, but they haven't made their mind up about solar panels. So if you feel strongly about that and other technologies, the deadline to have your say is lunchtime on the 27th of March. The link is in the show notes as always. The big news in training this week is the closure of Options Skills. The company ran electrical courses as well as specialist bootcamps in renewables, such as solar and EV charging. Its website says that the directors have called in the insolvency firm Begbies Traynor, and it states that the latter will get in touch with Option Skills students, many of whom we understand have been left out of pocket by the sudden announcement. Last week's question of the week was on ventilation and was taken from our free training package on the subject from EnviroVent. There's a link to that training package in the show notes as well. The question was according to Approved Document F, what percentage of ventilation equipment would need to be inspected and commissioned upon completion? The options were 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100%. And on YouTube, 78% of people knew that the correct answer is 100%, or in other words, it must all be checked. A much better showing from our LinkedIn followers this week at 73% correct, but still just edged out by YouTube viewers. In product news, an Italian firm has come up with a DIN rail mounted device that can predict if there's going to be a fault on a domestic circuit. The OMHERO, as it's known in the UK, monitors all the circuits as well as the earth leakage current. If the latter exceeds 30 milliamps, you'll get an alert on your mobile. You'll also get a notification if a circuit is looking like it's about to trip a breaker. It can also provide comprehensive insights into power consumption. Gordon hopped onto a plane to southern Italy, well, someone had to, where he met Massimo Valentini, who's been using the device to monitor and protect his rental properties. The link to the sun-soaked video is in the show notes. Lighting specialist ROBUS has unveiled a new bulkhead light. And while that sentence won't immediately strike you as a drop everything, where were you when it happened moment in your life, please give me a moment to explain. That's because I've had a play around with the said luminaire, known as the GOLF EXPRESS, and I've managed to get it to reveal its secrets. Essentially, ROBUS has gone back to the drawing board and rethought the venerable bulkhead from the position of the time-pressed installer. In fact, the light has about a dozen really clever features. For instance, you can change the output, the power, and the colour temperature by simply flicking internal switches. You can also set the sensitivity of the optional PIR and daylight sensors, and change the detection area and the whole time of the illumination. And are loads of other features too that make it a pleasure to instal. I was so excited with it, I went and made a whole video all about it, which you can check out in the notes. And finally, if you're in the market for a new job, a vacancy has arisen for a qualified electrician. Your job will be to maintain some world-class laboratories and buildings. You'll do PAT testing, service the fire alarms, and maintain the electrical installation. All food and accommodation is paid for, and you'll be in a generous pension scheme. The catch? You'll need to be comfortable with the cold, and I mean cold. That's because the position is based at the research station of the British Antarctic Survey right by the South Pole. However, former employees described the role as the opportunity of a lifetime. One said it was like living in a nature documentary. Another asked, "Where else can you watch icebergs, penguins, and whales go past while you're working?" If you're interested, you'll need to apply by the 31st of March. I've put the link to that in the show notes. Let us know if you get the job, and remember to wrap up well, and don't forget your husky. And just our usual reminder that we're in the market for your stories, your projects, and your recommendations as we'd like to share them with the wider eFIXX community. As we move into April, our focus will be on cables, and containment, and industrial circuit protection, so send us your pictures of your instals or let us know if you've come across any new kit that's making your job easier. And just before we get to your favourite bit of the show where I reveal last week's challenge words and winners, we want to thank our premium partners. We couldn't make the news without you. First up, they're the people who've created the Swiss Army knife of solar inverters along with all weather batteries. Very much the Boy Scouts of the solar industry, it's Sunsynk. And testing, testing, one, two, testing. If you've got something you need to measure or a piece of test equipment to calibrate from multimeters to power quality analyzers, then it can only be Test Instrument Solutions. Now, are you a bit of a control freak, motor control that is? If so, with huge stocks and excellence service, check out Crompton Controls, as they said to me in a recent conversation,"If we don't have it, then we can build it." Now, who doesn't love a freebie? With their incredibly simple and totally free EV charger management platform, they're helping installers win jobs and save their customers thousands a year, it's Tap Electric. With their high-quality and reliable EV charging equipment and industry-leading customer care, you could say they're leading the EV-lution, it's Hydra EVC. The best thing to come out of Yorkshire since stainless steel, the home of EV Ultra and other groundbreaking and quality products, it's Doncaster Cables. With an incredible range of equipment from EV charge points through industrial sockets and switches to kit for explosive areas, plus they supplied gear for a Campari factory, so they'll always have a place in my heart, it's Scame. Big thanks to you all. We really appreciate your ongoing support for the news. If you think you know the words that I've smuggled into this week's show, pop your guess into the comments. We'll take all the correct guesses and select one at random to be a winner of an eFIXX goodie bag prize. Answers submitted after about lunchtime on the Thursday after release will not be entered into the draw. Now let's reveal the winner of last week's challenge word competition supported by Compleo, the complete solution for EV charge point installers. Last week's words were ironmonger and daffodil, and trying to slip ironmonger into the mix completely by itself proved tricky, so I included the word anvil, and this seems to have thrown a lot of you off as many people included that as one of their guesses. We put all the names of the people who got it right into an electronic hat, and the first one to be plucked out as a winner was fudgedonkey. Strange names they give people these days. So well done to you. Make sure you click the get involved link in the show notes to claim your prize. Thanks for listening to this episode of "Electrical News Weekly" in association with Solar Trade Sales, your easy one-stop shop for all things solar. Make sure you subscribe to receive the next update. Thanks for listening, and until next time, have a great week. Stay safe out there. And remember, there's no such thing as a torque-calibrated arm.