Prague is turning street lamps into EV chargers to power its electric future
Published on Oct 21, 2025 at 8:16 AM (UTC+4)
by Molly Davidson
Last updated on Oct 21, 2025 at 10:04 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Prague’s doing something clever with its street lamps.
Instead of just lighting up the city, street lamps about to charge it too.
The Czech capital is turning everyday lamp posts into EV chargers.
And if it works, the entire city could become one giant plug-in zone.
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How Prague plans to turn street lamps into EV chargers
Forget digging up streets or shutting down traffic for months.
Prague’s found a shortcut.
Its public-lighting authority is converting existing lamp posts into EV charging points.
It’s part of a massive retrofit project that treats installation like an appliance swap, not a rebuild.
Each post gets a thicker underground cable and a high-capacity socket, ready to juice up anything from a commuter hatchback to a full-size SUV.
The rollout started small in 2024 with just 143 upgraded posts.
By 2026, the city expects 1,500.
By 2030, 6,000.
That’s a network dense enough to make charging as casual as parking.
Two years ago, the entire Czech Republic had just 2,400 public EV chargers for 22,000 electric vehicles.
This new system aims to support the half-million plug-ins expected to hit the roads within five years.
“Without accessible charging options, electromobility will remain the privilege of a small group,” Deputy Mayor for Transport Zdeněk Hřib said.
The project is managed by Technology of the Capital City of Prague – the same company that runs its public lighting.
And right now, they’re laying down the power-hungry cabling that will quietly electrify 3,400 miles of city streets.
It’s clean, quick, and surprisingly low-drama for a plan that could transform the country’s entire relationship with cars.
Prague’s electric future is looking bright
Diesel still rules Czech driveways.
In fact, the country sells more diesel cars than any other EU nation.
But smog and nitrous oxide emissions are forcing a reckoning.
Prague’s air currently clocks in at 1.2 times the WHO’s particulate limit.
The rollout of charging street lamps is part of a bigger clean-air pivot meant to kill two birds: pollution and range anxiety.
And Prague isn’t going it alone.
Detroit’s already doing the same with AT&T and Voltpost, wiring lampposts into smart Level 2 chargers that connect to the cloud.
Lancaster, Pennsylvania is installing public chargers in low-income neighborhoods using federal grants.
The movement’s spreading fast.
Quiet, practical, and soon visible on every street corner.
That’s the real magic of Prague’s plan.
It doesn’t demand new habits or new infrastructure.
Just new wiring.
When every light becomes a charger, owning an EV starts feeling like normal life.
And with every plug-in post, the city gets a little brighter.
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Molly Davidson is a Junior Content Writer at Supercar Blondie. Based in Melbourne, she holds a double Bachelor’s degree in Arts/Law from Swinburne University and a Master’s of Writing and Publishing from RMIT. Molly has contributed to a range of magazines and journals, developing a strong interest in lifestyle and car news content. When she’s not writing, she’s spending quality time with her rescue English staffy, Boof.
