Ecotricity's motorway electric car charging network saw a huge 45-fold jump in use in the final quarter of last year, Ecotricity has revealed

Adding three super-chargers to the existing 14 standard charger units already installed at Welcome Break service stations resulted in over 4,000 kWh of electricity being consumed between February and April 2013 compared to just 87kWh during the corresponding three month period last year.

Ecotricity opened the first charge point at South Mimms services in Hertfordshire almost two years ago with the goal of creating a nationwide "Electric Highway" by fitting chargers at all 27 Welcome Break sites by the end of this year. The chargers are powered by wind or solar energy and are free to use for members of the scheme.

Three fast-chargers capable of filling up most electric cars' batteries to 80 per cent in half an hour were subsequently fitted at South Mimms, Oxford, and Hopwood Park stations last year, while a fourth is now up and running at Newport Pagnell services on the M1 near Milton Keynes.