DOZENS of electric car charging points could soon be installed in Southampton to help cut the city’s pollution, the Daily Echo can reveal.

Southern Electric has offered to install 30 recharge points in car parks, shopping centres, train stations and major workplaces across the city.

The move comes just weeks after the Daily Echo revealed warning messages were to be sent to asthmatics when smog reaches dangerously high levels.

It is hoped the £150,000 infrastructure investment will encourage drivers in Hampshire to cut their emissions by switching to plug-in cars.

Unlike Portsmouth and Brighton, Southampton has no public recharge points, but the scheme could soon make it the electric car capital of the south coast.

The cost of installing each of the £5,000 points would be shared between the energy firm and the Government’s “plugged-in places” grant scheme.

Southern Electric has offered to pay for operation and maintenance for the first two years, but Southampton City Council would be expected to cover those costs in the future.

The ongoing costs have yet to be calculated, but the council is hopeful the first charging points could be installed within just a few years.

Bill Clark, Southampton’s sustainability policy manager, said the council was working to identify potential locations for the charging stations.

A contract to install and supply electricity to the points would have to go to a competitive tender, he added.

“We are very keen to explore electric car recharge points in Southampton. Whether it’s on this scale or not,we aren’t sure,”

Mr Clark said. “This is the way cities all over the UK are going to have to go in the future. There is no point in having electric cars if you cannot charge them up somewhere.”

The dual capacity points will feature both slow and fast charge technology so that they are compatible with most electric car models.

A 13 amp unit takes about six to eight hours to fully charge a car, but a 32 amp unit, which requires an alternating current, can slash the time to a couple of hours.

According to motoring.co.uk, a typical electric car can only do about 60 miles on a single charge. However, the big bonus is that it costs just one or two pence per mile to run and road tax is free.

Southern Electric is just one a number of energy suppliers across the country hoping to cash in on the switch to low-carbon vehicles.

A spokesman for Southern Electric refused to go into further detail about the offer, but said in a statement: “Southern Electric and Southampton City Council are having positive discussions about the future installation of electric car-charging points.

“These discussions are going well and, through the City of Southampton Energy Partnership there is a great deal of support for electric vehicles.”

Councillor Matt Dean, Cabinet member for environment and transport, said he would shortly meet with Southern Electric to discuss the proposal.

“I’m delighted Southern Electric have made this offer and we need to understand the benefits of the scheme,” Cllr Dean said.

“It would be great for air quality in the city.

Like all the big cities, air quality can be an issue and this would help us address those problems.”

Big name manufacturers including Mitsubishi, Nissan and SMART are all preparing to launch a new range of electric cars in 2011.

Southern Electric has teamed up with BMW and Ford to trial electrified versions of their popular Mini and Focus models.

BMW claim the Mini E has a top speed of 95mph, a range of up to 130 miles and a charging time of three-and-a-half hours.

The five-seater Ford Focus Electric will have a top speed of 80mph, last 70 miles and be charged in seven hours.

Electric cars are more expensive than their petrol-powered counterparts – the fully electric Nissan Leaf is expected to sell for £22,000.

However, the Government earlier this year announced that anyone who buys an ultra-low carbon car would receive a £5,000 grant towards the cost.

Stuart Conway, owner of Electric Bike World in Bedford Place, said he had had “phenomenal”

demand for the latest range of hi-tech electrified bicycles.

He believes electric cars could soon be as popular if manufacturers can get the design right.

“Street credibility is going to be very important,”

Mr Conway said.