Gridserve is set to reduce its terms of exclusivity with motorway service station operators, with the company noting that it is open to competition in the EV charging market.
Following Gridserve’s acquisition of Electric Highway in 2021, the firm has been under increasing pressure regarding the monopoly it holds, with it being the only EV charging provider at the vast majority of service stations across the UK.
This monopoly was a serious issue under Ecotricity’s ownership, as it was widely regarded as one of the most unreliable networks, despite its prime position. Thankfully, this is something Gridserve is well aware of, with the firm investing significant resources to upgrade the Electric Highway’s charging infrastructure all across the UK.
Despite this upgrade programme, the Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation into the Electric Highway shortly after Gridserve’s acquisition. At the time the CMA argued that Gridserve’s dominant position at motorway service stations could hinder the UK’s rollout of rapid EV charging.
Gridserve is now ready to open itself up to more competition as a result of the CMA’s investigation, however. In fact, while the Electric Highway held 10-15 year exclusivity agreements with the likes of Moto, Roadchef and Extra MSA, which cover around two-thirds of the UK’s motorway service stations, Gridserve is willing to end those agreements slightly earlier.
As part of its legally binding commitments to the CMA, Gridserve has agreed to reduce the length of the exclusive rights in its current contracts. It notes that it will not enforce its exclusivity agreements with any operator from November 2026. That means its agreement with Moto has been reduced by around two years, while its contract with Roadchef will be trimmed by roughly four years. It hasn’t agreed to any reduction in its agreement with Extra MSA, however, which is due to end in 2026 anyway.
While 2026 is quite a long time away, there could be competition at motorway service stations a lot sooner than that under another commitment from Gridserve. That’s because the firm has agreed to allow any operator onto its turf if it’s been granted funding by the UK Government’s Rapid Charging Fund.
Ann Pope, the CMA’s Senior Director of Antitrust, noted, “We need a combination of investment now and healthy competition going forward to make sure chargepoints are installed at scale where people need them, for a fair price.
“Today’s commitments strike the right balance. Gridserve will continue to invest in the much-needed roll-out of chargepoints across the country but the exclusivity linked to its investment won’t be an undue barrier to others competing in the near future.
Alongside reducing Gridserve’s exclusivity, the CMA’s action will also allow the RCF to be rolled out as planned and provide drivers with faster charging. This funding is intended to encourage the installation of chargepoints at motorway service areas, but it is expected to only be available for sites with more than one chargepoint operator. Without the commitments, Gridserve would have retained exclusivity at the vast majority of motorway service areas and wide take-up of the RCF would not have been possible.
