You only tax what has arrived
The Budget introduced a 3p per mile charge on electric vehicles.
Some called it premature. Others called it unnecessary.
At ORKA, we see it differently:
Governments don’t tax fringe technology.
They tax what has become mainstream, stable and economically meaningful.
For decades, petrol and diesel held that position.
Today, EV has joined them.
Not because of a headline — but because of real-world adoption.
The shift has already happened on the ground
Before politicians ever touched EV mileage, the transition had already begun:
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Engineering teams planning infrastructure around real loads, capacity and future needs
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Installers digging ducting, laying cable, integrating with switchgear
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Manufacturers and software providers refining hardware and fleet management tools
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Businesses tentatively trialling chargers — then needing more within months
This is where the real transition happens — not at podiums, but in car parks, depots, hospitality venues and industrial sites.
EV charging for North-east businesses is no longer “new technology”
Across installations we’ve delivered in the last 18–24 months, a familiar pattern emerges:
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“We’ll start with one or two chargers for staff.”
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“We need more access — we didn’t expect so many EVs.”
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“We need management software, scheduling and reporting.”
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“This is now part of how we operate.”
The 3p per mile announcement isn’t what creates the shift.
It simply recognises what’s already happening.
“The conversation isn’t ‘should we have EV charging?’ anymore,”
says Duncan Booth, Director at ORKA Solutions.
“It’s ‘how do we integrate it with solar, battery and existing power so it works every day without fuss?’”
That is a fundamentally different question.
It’s a sign of maturity, not hype.
Every infrastructure transition follows the same pattern
We’ve seen it with internet, cloud services, renewables, LED lighting, even contactless payments:
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Support
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Scale
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Acceptance
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Taxation
No government taxes experiments.
They tax what works.
Whether we like the specifics of the rate or not, this Budget was the moment policymakers finally acknowledged reality:
EV isn’t early adoption anymore — it’s everyday infrastructure.
What this means for Scottish organisations
It doesn’t mean you should spend more.
It means you should plan properly.
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Design systems around usage curves, not just today’s headcount.
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Integrate software management from day one.
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Build in ducting and spare capacity to avoid digging car parks twice.
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Treat EV charging like any business-critical system: scalable, maintainable and secure.
This isn’t a technology race.
It’s an infrastructure maturity curve.
And the organisations that approach it practically — not reactively — will win.
From transition to integration
At ORKA Solutions, this is where we spend our time:
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integrating charging with solar and batteries,
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building systems that scale in phases,
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designing around real-world constraints,
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supporting sites as adoption increases.
Electric vehicles aren’t “the future of mobility.”
They are the present — and the Budget just confirmed it.
If you’re planning to add EV charging — or expand what you already have — let’s talk.
Practical, scalable, jargon-free support: Contact Us