the north!

Or just buy a Tesla and charge on the way up and on the way back as needed :P

The north is a black hole

Its mad there are 16 tesla superchargers between North and south at CB and they are rarely being used. And then u look at the non tesla chargers there and they are brutal

Castlebellingham Northbound/Southbound would be the perfect spot for a raft of Ionity chargers (for anyone making a trip to or from the North) - not that'll happen (unless the rumours of the Tesla chargers being moved are true, and other non-tesla chargers use the abandoned infrastructure).

The single 50kW ESB charger (northbound) has been in use every single time I've pulled in there in the past year (6 or 7 journeys maybe) so I never consider it in my plan (instead I hope for the best when I get to my destination; hope the "50kW" near my destination is outputting more than 9kW, as it was the last time).

Well, you know what you can do if you have an issue with the load factor on Tesla superchargers? Either buy a tesla and take advantage of the ease of charging which has been funded by tesla owners, or come online and complain about it?

Was in the north recently too. What is the rationale for ESB chargers being free?

A big part of it is freeloading. 2 22Kwh chargers, one occupied for 8 hours, the other for 5 was the situation on my visit to Lisburn. Out on the Sprucefield roundabout the fast charger occupied for 80 mins and driver AWOL..The only other 22kw ESB charger in Lisburn under repair.

Meanwhile 8 Chargepount chargers nearby totally unused, but costing 43p/kWh.

Just like ROI, make them all fee based and there will be no issue.

Yeah I'd recommend using ABRP for route planning, but maybe tell it not to use any chargers in NI as it's a tad optimistic. You can set a preference for 2 chargers minimum which cuts out most of the junk sites

ESB tends to get the visibility since they're very public every time they open a charger, but Ionity have been rolling out since 2019 I think. There's also a planned expanson to Ionity in the next few years but I don't know if they'll get any traction

I guess installing a single HPC is a cause for celebration in ESB but only a job 25% done for other providers 😂

That's why I think the excuse that ESB were giving is BS, they were looking for more funding, plain and simple

Thanks for the tip, I'll have a look.

Are they pay as you go, can you just pay by card there and then without subscribing for anything? Had not heard of them yet.

Yes. Bring a petrol or diesel if you can. Consider renting a car if needed.

For the truth on the real status of NI chargers look at plugshare app. Those that do work are crazy busy with queues and most others are broken for years.

If you must go EV consider a very long range EV. Drop top speed to stretch range. Try book overnight accommodation with chargers. Assume you will never get a public charge. Charge in ROI say Dundalk to near 100% before crossing border. If you do need a charge check status in esb app and plugshare app and maybe zap map. Try to charge plenty early assuming charger will have a queue or not work. Have multiple backup options including your own AC cable and a granny cable and extension lead. Look for unusual chargers on the plugshare app such as Lidl Belfast, IKEA, or other non esb options.

Fees can be applied in NI and were due to be applied this year but for some reason esb seem to be not installing as planned and don't intend introducing fees until they have replaced a lot of the broken chargers. It's the worst area in all UK including ROI. Even Tesla and Ionity have no sites in NI.

Try for the slowly increasing number of rapids that are paid for:

EasyGo have 2 new ones in Belfast. Shore Road would be handy. Castlereagh Road is off your route but due to open this Saturday.

Gridserve as discussed but can be busy due to the aforementioned lack of chargers.

Also on your route is the Maxol charger in Antrim Town Parks. Just like Gridserve card only.

And remember you're driving a Southern reg so maybe factor in the charger location lol

Complicated

There's also a (presumably) 22kw charger in Ballycastle which was working last time I was going past there a couple of weeks ago and saw someone had plugged in. Could be a good spot to top up while getting some grub after visiting the Causeway, rope bridge etc - certainly a nicer place to stroll around than Bushmills. The "southern reg" fears tend to be a bit overhyped, but in any case that certainly won't be an issue in Ballycastle.

yeah look the reg does stand out but i stayed near bushmills a couple of years ago and all was ok - having said that, it was certainly a bit off-putting.

Nonsense, I'm sure the centre of Liverpool was far safer 😜

Tbh I think the reg thing is a bit overplayed. I've parked around Belfast a few time in generally unionist areas and had no trouble.

I think if you park in the somewhat rougher areas then you're in trouble anyway. Having a southern reg probably makes you more of a target in unionist areas but that's not to say you'd be safe in republican areas

As was mentioned previously, charges will help to increase availability. Even if they just introduced an overstay charge after 45 mins on the fast chargers like we have here would make a huge difference. Was hoping to go north this year for a pre-christmas shopping trip but less tempted with the state of the charging

Glad it worked out, I might be doing a similar trip later this year and it's good to know the IKEA charger is a decent bet

There is also a free 11kW chargers just around the corner from the Titanic Centre, although you do have to pay for charging.

Download the "yourparkingspace" app in advance to save time.

Just a note, the Ikea charger says 120kW on the display for CCS, but I only managed to get 41kW, which was still fine. On Google maps it shows up as 50kW so I think it might be limited.

Yeah that seems to be common on those older Gridserve chargers, saw the same situation in Holyhead

My guess is they limited the grid installation and are just upgrading the grid connection on chargers that have high turnover

How do they know it's an Ionity site in Belfast? I'm guessing it said something on the planning documents

EDIT: Just founda the planning docs, big Ionity logo on them. Looks like we're getting a proper HPC hub in NI 😁

The Facebook group has contacts in various suppliers and talks with government. Often these plans are kept secret before planning and often kept quiet until planning is received as competitors often object to planning such as local petrol stations or competing charging providers hoping to delay or stop the planning.

In Donegal town one supermarket objected to another new supermarket. In another case one petrol station got positive letters from fictional people to help the application. All's fair in love war and business. Any charging provider or petrol provider would be looking at the state of the network and any planned sites next to each other. It's bad business to install chargers next to competitors.