EV Charging Reliability in 2026: What the Data Really Shows

The UK's 99% uptime mandate for rapid chargers is now in force, with the first compliance reports due on 14 January 2026. A 2025 Monta survey of over 200 UK charge point operator decision-makers reveals only 3.9% currently meet the threshold. While networks claim an uptime of 98–99%, US research from ChargerHelp found that the actual first-time charging success rate is just 71%. Nearly one in three charging attempts fails.

For commercial property owners, local authorities, and fleet operators selecting EV charging partners, understanding the actual state of charging reliability has never mattered more.

The 99% Mandate: Compliance Deadline Arrives

The Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 came into force on 24 November 2023, with a one-year lead time for the reliability requirement. Since November 2024, all rapid charging networks (50kW and above) must achieve 99% average annual reliability.

The regulations measure reliability using OCPI 2.2.1 protocol status codes. A charger is considered reliable when it shows Available, Charging, or Reserved status. Payment terminal failures count as downtime, since contactless payment has been mandatory for all new public chargers 8kW and above since November 2024.

Operators can claim exemptions for vandalism, severe weather, or grid failures, but only with documented evidence reviewed by the Office for Product Safety and Standards.

Penalties:

• Up to £10,000 per charge point for contactless payment non-compliance
• Up to £10,000 per rapid network for failing the 99% reliability requirement
• Up to £250,000 for obstruction of enforcement or false statements

The Compliance Gap

The 2025 Monta survey paints a stark picture:

• Only 3.9% of operators meet or exceed 99% uptime
• 74% report uptime above 95%
• Over a quarter fall within 97–98.4%
• 45% cite slow maintenance response times as their most significant barrier
• Only 17% can access key diagnostics on demand
• 10% rarely or never receive diagnostic updates

Zest operates the UK's largest in-house charge point operator team, enabling rapid response to maintenance issues across our network of 1,300+ charging locations.

Reported Uptime vs Driver Experience

Looking across at the US market, ChargerHelp's analysis of over 100,000 charging sessions across 2,400 US chargers found networks claiming 98.7–99.9% uptime delivered only a 71% first-time charge success rate. More than a third of failures occurred on chargers that appeared operational. 

Technical availability and functional reliability are fundamentally different metrics.

Performance Degrades Over Time

ChargerHelp's year-over-year analysis found that first-time charge success rates drop from 85% at newly installed stations to below 70% by year three. This 15-point decline stems from hardware not designed for ongoing software updates, chargers unable to handle vehicle protocol changes, and firmware limitations that accumulate.

Hardware swaps and site refreshes may temporarily improve metrics, but don't address the underlying reliability architecture. Organisations should prioritise partners with demonstrated long-term performance records and modular designs that accommodate future requirements.

Root Causes: User Error

Kempower's analysis of over 13 million charging sessions (2018–2024) reveals:

User-oriented failures: 81% of all failures

• Failed authentication: 75.7% (often due to complex charging apps)
• Cable not connected: 13.8%
• Abrupt session stops (e.g. disconnecting early): 9.5%

Technical failures: 19% of all failures

• EV communication issues: 47.1%
• Connector locking issues: 44.1%
• Charger hardware faults: ~5%

Simpler authentication and more precise instructions could address most charging failures. Zest addresses this through multiple payment options, including contactless payment, app-based charging, and integration with platforms like Octopus Electroverse.

Mean Time To Repair

Repair times vary enormously. Best-in-class operators achieve repairs in under 5 hours; typical DC fast charger repairs can stretch to several weeks when parts availability constrains the process.

Remote diagnostics represent the single most impactful factor in reducing repair times. Platforms using predictive algorithms can resolve a significant proportion of issues remotely before escalating to technician dispatch.

Typical maintenance costs:

• AC chargers (Level 2): £300–500 per year
• DC fast chargers: £2,000–3,000 annually

With fully funded EV charging solutions, site owners can transfer operational and maintenance responsibility to their charging partner while avoiding capital expenditure.

How the UK Compares Globally

The UK's 99% reliability mandate is among the most stringent globally.

United States: The NEVI Formula Program requires a minimum 97% uptime for federally-funded chargers, measured on a rolling 12-month average per individual port.

European Union: AFIR contains no EU-wide uptime mandate, though national and local tenders increasingly specify requirements of 97–99%.

Key differences:

• The UK uses OCPI status-based calculation, averaged across each operator's entire rapid network
• US NEVI uses time-based formulas calculated per individual port
• UK regulations explicitly include payment terminal failures as downtime

International Best Practices

Norway:

• 88.9% battery electric vehicle share of new car sales in 2024, rising to 95.9% in 2025 (OFV)
• Strong focus on fast charging along main routes
• Consistent long-term policy framework spanning decades

Netherlands:

• Over 180,000 public charging points at the end of 2024, Europe's largest network
• Highest charger density in Europe (~10 chargers per 1,000 inhabitants)
• Strategy focused on dense AC charging networks in urban and residential areas

Both markets demonstrate that comprehensive charging ecosystems, strong payment interoperability, and quality hardware deliver results. The IEA Global EV Outlook 2025 provides further analysis of international developments in charging infrastructure.

Business Impact of Unreliable Charging

For fleet operators, charging downtime creates cascading costs: missed routes, schedule disruptions, and premium costs when forced to use backup public infrastructure. Industry surveys indicate that many fleet operators cannot recover from charging failures within 4 hours.

For destination charging at retail and hospitality venues, working chargers increase dwell time and customer spending. The inverse risk of unreliable chargers damaging brand reputation rarely appears in procurement calculations but represents a substantial hidden cost.

Commercial property values are increasingly reflecting the quality of charging infrastructure, with surveys indicating that a majority of companies now favour offices with charging facilities.

What B2B Decision-Makers Should Prioritise

Commercial property owners:

• Demonstrable long-term reliability performance (not just claimed uptime)
• Remote monitoring and predictive maintenance capabilities
• Clear SLA terms with meaningful service credits
• Modular hardware designs that accommodate future protocol requirements
• Budget £400–500/year per AC charger and £2,000–3,000/year per DC fast charger if choosing to buy/ own the charging infrastructure.

Since Zest manages the end-to-end service, including maintenance, commercial landowners don’t need to consider ongoing maintenance costs. Learn about Zest's commercial property partnerships

Local authorities:

• Given typical 15–25 year contract horizons, require OCPP compliance for vendor flexibility
• Select operators with documented network performance approaching or meeting 99%
• Build quarterly service reviews with performance reporting into contract terms
• Prioritise partners who can demonstrate current compliance rather than promises of future improvement

Zest has delivered successful partnerships with Transport for London, Hackney Council, Portsmouth City Council and many other local authorities across the UK.

Fleet operators:

• Prioritise predictive maintenance platforms with proven performance
• Seek depot-specific SLAs with rapid response times
• The operational cost of charging downtime significantly exceeds the marginal cost difference between premium and budget infrastructure.

Overview

A gap between regulatory ambition and operational reality characterises the UK's EV charging reliability landscape in 2026. The 99% uptime mandate is now enforceable, yet fewer than 4% of operators currently achieve it.

First-time charging success rates can be substantially lower than claimed uptime figures. Charger performance degrades significantly from year one to year three, making long-term reliability architecture more important than initial procurement costs.

Operators with demonstrated strong performance, predictive maintenance capabilities, meaningful SLA terms, and modular hardware designs will be best positioned for the growing EV market. Those selecting partners based primarily on upfront cost face compounding costs in lost revenue, operational disruption, regulatory penalties, and reputational damage.

Get in touch to discuss your EV charging requirements.

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