Sally Brown, Transport Planning Officer, at the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) will be in attendance to provide an overview of the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Project.
Recommendation: that the Panel determines what further information will be required for this scrutiny investigation.
Minutes:
The
Head of Transport and the Transport Planning Officer from the Tees Valley
Combined Authority (TVCA) were in attendance to present an overview of the
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Project.
Early in 2021, extensive market engagement was undertaken to inform the procurement specification and process for the Project. The purpose of the market engagement exercise was to gain feedback on the scope of the project and detail within the specification documentation from prospective bidders.
An open procurement process was undertaken in March to appoint to a single supplier framework, which was awarded in June 2021. The framework was available for use by all public bodies across Tees Valley for the next five years, giving them the option to avoid carrying out a full procurement exercise if required.
Taking into account the feedback from the market engagement process a phased approach to Electric Vehicle Charging Point (EVCP) site construction had been adopted as follows:
· Phase 1 –Local Authority controlled sites – such as public car parks. This phase would be implemented over a two year period.
·
Phase 2 –Other public sites - including Further
Education, NHS, Network Rail, Highways England -
subject to future funding / bidding opportunities. The
development/feasibility work for this phase would run simultaneously with Phase
1.
The
TVCA had worked closely with the five Tees Valley Councils to establish a list
of prioritised sites for Phase 1 that were either owned by the local
authorities or the TVCA and this was in the procurement specification.
The
TVCA would use the £2 million allocated funding to pay for all costs including
equipment, installation, maintenance and back office system. VCA would retain ownership of the
infrastructure and the revenue generated by the network to pay for electricity
costs. Any remaining revenue would be
re-invested into the network.
A
supplier had been procured to install, operate and maintain the EVCPs and
operate the back office system.
Feasibility studies were being carried out for each site, which would be complete by the end of October. As part of these studies a cost for any required upgrade or new connection to the electricity supply would be determined with the Distribution Network Operator (Northern Powergrid), which could vary significantly.
Following the completion of feasibility works, TVCA and Local Authority approval would be required for each site individually before delivery, to ensure value for money. If a feasibility study for a particular site determined that the cost of installation was too expensive, the site might not be delivered.
Site development was scheduled to commence late 2021/early 2022, with Phase 1 of the Tees Valley EVCP network operational by Summer 2023.
It was highlighted that over 50% of the sites put forward for Phase 1 should support surrounding residential areas that did not have access to off street parking.
The EVCPs would be installed at no
cost to the Council as the TVCA would fund installation and maintenance. Users could set up an online account, and pay
with a mobile phone or debit card. TVCA would
cover all the electricity costs and any revenue costs that were generated over
and above the cost of running the EVCPs would be re-invested into the
network. An energy provider had been
procured to supply 100% renewable energy.
The EVCPs would be compatible with
all electric vehicles with the exception of Tesla vehicles, which currently
could only use their own charging points.
The specification included in the procurement documentation was to
ensure inter-operability as far as possible with all electric vehicles. As of July 2021, there were approximately
1500 electric vehicles owned by Tees Valley residents.
As part of the feasibility study on
the location of the EVCPs, Middlesbrough Council was considering council car
parks adjacent to residential properties.
The car parks needed to be accessible 24/7 and it was suggested that the
points should be installed in prominent areas, both to minimise the risk of
vandalism and encourage electric vehicle ownership through their visibility.
The Chair thanked the officers from
the TVCA for their presentation.
AGREED as follows that:
1.
The information provided was received and noted.
2.
Details of the Middlesbrough sites identified
for Phase 1 would be circulated to Panel members.