Confusion creates delay in public sector engagement in EV charging ventures

The pace with which local government authorities are attracting private investment to subsidised electric vehicle (EV) charging projects has fallen way behind.  While the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles initially directed its Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) fund grantees to engage dynamic purchasing systems (DPS) in tendering for private investment, those systems are now widely understood to be out of compliance with procurement legislation. 

To some extent, this is a storm in a teacup. While frameworks and DPS' provided some level of perhaps unearned comfort to procurement departments of local government authorities, firms like Steer (where I lead our practice in the development and funding of EV infrastructure) excel at tendering for private investment to subsidised and therefore commercially viable projects sponsored by the public sector.  

Working hand-in-glove with legal counsel, we facilitate tenders that enhance the opportunity for local authorities to secure commercial and service objectives and demonstrate compliance with procurement legislation, but now that legislation is itself changing.  

What is happening to legislation affecting EV infrastructure in the UK? 

In October, only two days before the UK's Autumn budget, we expected to have enacted the Procurement Act 2023 that will replace comparable pre-Brexit era legislation. On Friday however, the Government announced that enactment of that legislation will be delayed to February 2025. 

Again, these changes arguably don't impact the risk exposure of local authorities in tendering for private investment, but a changeable regulatory environment seeds confusion and delays implementation of projects that would otherwise enhance the fragile market environment for adoption of electric vehicles at scale.  

According to the UK's own reporting, road transport represents about 25% of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions. Accelerating the EV transition can make a dynamic impact on our contribution to the Global climate emergency. 

Procurement of Private Investment Isn't Buying, it's Selling 

The LEVI program allocated nearly £350 million in capital funding to the nation's combined and local authorities. These funds are to attract private investment to a "step change" in the pace of EV charging development.  

If we were to apply even a conservative 2/1 ratio of private to public investment and an average per-charger cost of £10,000, the resulting indicated number of funded chargers would dwarf the nearly 55,000 fast and standard chargers reported by Zapmap.  

With the exception of recent announcements by Brighton & Hove City Council and London Borough of Hounslow, these funds are currently held up in procurement by local authorities trying gallantly to decipher a confused procurement environment. 

Attraction of private investment to subsidized opportunities sponsored by local authorities is fundamentally different from more traditional procurement. Rather than "buying" an asset or service for the public good, local authorities are instead "selling" the opportunity to invest in a subsidized and therefore commercially viable EV charging project. 

If you’re a local authority looking for help with moving through the complexities of open tendering for EV charging concessions, speak to Alex Georgianna.  

You may also be interested in watching our webinar on the topic.