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The Source East network of EV chargers has closed.
The network, which has 250 chargers dotted around the east of England, was originally set up in 2011 as part of the Government's Plugged-in Places scheme, which matched private funding to install charging points.
It closed on 31 March.
Between 2011 and 2016, the network was free to use for EV drivers, but the company migrated the network to a more commercially friendly one over the course of half a year, which required drivers to pay to charge.
However, according to the company, "many" of the chargers were too old to be moved into the new network, and the firm said "a large part of the financial cost of running the network" had fallen back into its hands, as support from local authorities had dried up, which Source East said was "unsustainable", hence the decision to close the network.
The charging points, which were upgraded by infrastructure firm ChargePoint Services, will now have GeniePoint - the name of another network - signage, in order to maintain chargers in the area and Source East said these points will be free to use until GeniePoint begins to charge for people to recharge, at which time people will need to register for a GeniePoint account.
A number of points been replaced by EV infrastructure giant Chargemaster and are available to use as part of Chargemaster's Polar network, which costs £7.85 a month.
"I'm sure it will come as welcome news to EV owners that several Source East charging points will enter the Polar network. Drivers will no longer need to put up with an unreliable and under-funded network, giving them complete peace of mind when travelling in the area," said David Martell, CEO of Chargemaster.
Alex Bamberg, managing director of ChargePoint Services said: "We are resolutely focussing our energies on expanding the GeniePoint Network, this is being achieved through shared partnerships with host organisations as well as our comprehensive fully funded programme offering the total cost of installation and hardware to hosts of suitable sites."
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