The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced new commitments from Gridserve – owner of major chargepoint operator The Electric Highway – which will reduce the length of exclusive rights to a number of motorway service companies.

The regulator said that the move will “unlock competition” and increase choice of electric vehicle chargepoints on motorways.

Under the new commitments, Gridserve has agreed not to enforce exclusive rights in contracts with Extra, MOTO or Roadchef, after November 2026, which currently cover around two-thirds of motorway service areas in the UK.

The authority said that in doing so, Gridserve has committed to reducing the length of the exclusive rights in the current contracts with MOTO by around two years and Roadchef by around four years. The contract with the third operator, Extra, is due to end in 2026.

The tech company has also agreed not to enforce exclusive rights at any Extra, MOTO or Roadchef sites that are granted funding under the UK government’s Rapid Charging Fund (RCF). This means competitor chargepoint operators will be allowed to install chargepoints regardless of the exclusivity in The Electric Highway’s contracts.

Each of the three motorway service area operators and Gridserve have promised not to take any action that would undermine the new commitments.

“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,” said Ann Pope, CMA senior director of Antitrust. “Today’s commitments strike the right balance.”

Pope added: “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.”

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