Only 15 electric car owners in Norfolk have applied for licences to run cables over footpaths to charge their vehicles since a new scheme was launched - and four of those were turned down.
Norfolk County Council announced the scheme, which costs owners just over £50 per licence, last year.
Council officers said the authority was getting increasing numbers of queries from people over charging electric vehicles at home, but did not have a policy in place when it came to laying cables over footpaths.
That is particularly an issue in Norwich's terraced streets, where many people do not have driveways and there are few charge points, so cables between homes and cars are the only solution.
The council said the licences - which cost £51.36 for two years - were a "temporary" solution until more public chargers become available.
But interest in such licences have been low, with only 15 applications received, of which 11 were granted.
The council said, of the four turned down, two were because they were asking for permission to place cables on a street which was not a public highway.
The other two were because the applicants had access to off-street parking, where they could charge vehicles off the highway.
But the council, which unveiled a strategy to encourage electric vehicles last year, says it is working to get more on-street chargers.
Potential sites for the trial of electric charging points have been identified on residential streets in Norwich, including Nelson, Mancroft, Mile Cross, Sewell, Thorpe Hamlet, Lakenham and Town Close.
The council is about to tender for a suitable supplier to provide those charging points, which would be in place for at least the next eight years and, potentially, up to 15 years.
Martin Wilby, the Conservative-controlled council's cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said: "We are very committed to delivering electric vehicle charging points in the city, as well as across the other parts of the county.
"With the Norwich scheme we are working with UK Power Networks and as soon as we get the tenders decided we will look to get the chargers in.
"It shows our commitment to electric vehicles, which will mean cleaner air and lower carbon emissions."
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