Local Authority FAQs

Several options exist for funding your EV charge point roll-out. Many local authorities choose to apply for grant funding, such as the On-street Residential Charge Scheme (ORCS) or the new Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) fund, to cover the majority of costs; with the charge point operator (CPO) covering the remainder. These funding streams have an important role to play in the more challenging areas, where the private sector would not otherwise be able to deliver.

A key challenge going forward however, is the scale of growth required to deliver the optimum number of public chargers, and grant funding will only go so far. In order to deliver at the scale required, unlocking private sector investment will be key to ensure areas are not left behind; and that charging infrastructure roll-out does not stall and slow the transition to EVs.

Believ can privately fund 100% of the roll-out of your publicly accessible EV chargers, including on-street AC chargers, all design, construction and deployment costs, along with ongoing maintenance, operations and upgrading. Our solution fully insulates you from the utilisation risk (i.e. the risk of losing money if the charger is not well used).

This approach, in our view, offers several significant advantages over the more traditional approach of waiting for central Government grant funding to be made available, and then bidding competitively to secure any funding.

Believ are agile, moving quickly to deploy at scale without being reliant on securing grant funding. We want to work with you as a long-term partner, taking a strategic view with the support and backing of our investors: Zouk Capital, who are investing the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (CIIF) on behalf of Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT), with a specific remit to deploy public chargers in areas where residents do not have access to off-street parking; and Liberty Global, who own Virgin Media/O2, and have a vast amount of infrastructure above and below ground across the UK, and with resources and operating bases already in place – enabling an efficient and cost effective roll-out.

A local authority can be completely reassured that by choosing an operator who will be fully privately funding the chargers, they will have the greatest possible incentive and commercial imperative to ensure the chargers are of the best possible quality, well maintained and well used and are in exactly the right geographical locations; as it is the only way they will see any return on their investment. Furthermore, given the very long payback periods, this is a strategic commitment, where a stable and secure partner such as Believ is critical.

By taking this approach, the scarce public funding and grants which are available can then be focused in the areas where the barriers to delivery are greatest, e.g., in areas with very high grid connection costs, or areas with low levels of demand for charging. Believ can work with you to help apply for and secure this funding.

There’s already a wide range of funding models to consider when installing public EV charging, from fully public sector funded models, to public/ private funded hybrid models, to purely private sector fully funded models.

When EVs and EV charging was in its infancy, the sector was very much reliant on public sector-led funding models in order to deploy the infrastructure. As there were very few EVs on the road, technologies were uncertain and costs were high, with little prospect of commercial returns.

As the market has matured, the public/private funded model has come to the fore, with public sector funding, typically in the form of grants awarded to a local authority by Central Government, and often used to pay for the majority of costs; with the private sector CPO covering the remainder of the cost.

A key challenge going forwards however, is that the scale of growth required in the number of public chargers is significant, and grant funding will only go so far. In order to deliver at the scale required, unlocking private sector investment will be key to ensure places are not left behind, and that charging infrastructure roll-out does not stall, and slow the transition to EVs.

Believ can fully fund your entire roll-out of publicly accessible chargers with zero requirement for public funding, including on-street AC chargers, 100% of all design, construction and deployment costs, as well as ongoing maintenance, operations and future-proofing. We also pay profit shares or bay fees to the local authority, whilst fully insulating you from the utilisation risk (i.e., the risk of losing money if the charger is not well used).

OZEV support the roll-out of publicly accessible EV chargers through a number of EV grant funding points, the two key initiatives being the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) and the new Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) fund.

ORCS provides funding towards the capital costs of installing public charging infrastructure for residents without private parking. It supports installations both on-street and in local authority-owned residential car parks. In the financial year 2022 to 2023, £20 million is available through ORCS. If a local authority needs guidance or support to bid for ORCS funding, the Energy Saving Trust is funded by the government to provide free, impartial advice and feedback throughout the application stage. The Energy Saving Trust’s Local Government Support Programme can also help. ORCS funding can be used to cover up to 60% of the capital costs for chargers up to 22kW, in locations where they will support residents without access to off-street parking.

Local EV Infrastructure Fund (LEVI) – To test the design of the new scheme OZEV launched a £10 million pilot competition, to trial a range of different innovative approaches to deploying EV charging, including delivery models which will reduce the requirement for public funding. The scheme will then be launched later in 2022/23, with £450 million available to help local authorities leverage private sector investment into their local charging networks and put in place long-term, sustainable charging infrastructure. 

Workplace Charging Scheme – The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) can help local authorities to electrify their own fleets and help transition their staff to EVs. The scheme provides up to £350 for each charge point socket installed at a site, with applicants being able to receive grants for up to 40 sockets. The WCS has recently been opened to small accommodation businesses and the charity sector, to accelerate EV uptake in rural areas and support the UK tourist industry.

EV charge point grants for homes – local authorities that own social housing can apply to the EV charge point grant for landlords. This will provide grants of up to £350 towards the cost of purchasing and installing a charge point, with up to 200 grants a year available for each local authority. Additional support will be available in the near future for local authorities to help install EV charge points in residential apartment block parking spaces. The EV charge point grant for residential carparks will provide grants of up to £30,000 towards the cost of installing EV charge points in such properties.

Rapid Charging Fund (RCF) – The £950 million RCF will ensure there is an ultra-rapid charging network along motorways and major A-roads by funding a portion of costs at strategic sites where upgrading connections to the electricity grid is prohibitively expensive.

There is a wide range of procurement frameworks and tender portals local authorities can use when deploying EV infrastructure.

One the most commonly used frameworks is Crown Commercial Services (CCS) – VCIS (Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Solutions), which has been designed to allow buyers to build their own specifications, competitions and contracts but provides a standardised process, which can save time as opposed to starting from scratch with a conventional public competition.

Other widely used frameworks include the Oxfordshire County Council framework and the new Scotland Excel framework. Believ can be procured via any of these frameworks, either directly or through a partner.

Once you have a strategy in place and are clear on your objectives, it is advisable to begin by engaging the market through soft market testing in the form of a Request for Information (RFI). This can be used to test the likely responsiveness of the market to your tender, what you are asking the market to supply and operate, the initial thinking around potential commercial terms and assessment criteria.

The feedback will provide a useful steer on whether aspects of the tender will need re-thinking, or the requirements revising, in order to attract competitive bids that will deliver against the overarching objectives and offer good value for money. This should reduce the requirement for changes being made during the tender process itself, with all parties having a better understanding of what is required and what is deliverable; ultimately saving you time and money in the long term.

Once the RFI has been completed, an Invitation To Tender (ITT) can be prepared. Many of the frameworks provide a standardised process, which can then be tailored with your specific requirements.

In order to build a successful tender, it is important to have a clear strategy and an overarching set of objectives you are working towards. For example, is the overarching objective your net zero commitments, improved local air quality, enabling residents/ visitors/ businesses to switch to EV? Ensuring EV infrastructure is in place to offer equitable access to chargers.

Engage with the market to understand what can be delivered commercially, what the sticking points may be and how best to structure your tender to deliver against your objectives.

Ensure that you do not allow charge point operators (CPOs) to cherry pick only the best sites and leave you with all the poorest performing sites. Take a portfolio approach instead, including a mix of sites or areas in what you offer up to the market.

Seek to attract as much private sector investment as possible, focusing any grant funding that is available where it is most needed. To do this it will be important to offer a sufficiently long contract to allow the CPO to repay their investment costs and have greater confidence in seeing a return on their investment. This may be around 10-15 years.

If it is a fully privately funded deployment you can rest assured that the CPO will be highly motivated to ensure the chargers are well maintained and utilised as it is the only way they will see a return on their investment.

Avoid granting exclusivity to a single CPO across wide areas. Whilst it makes sense to do this in smaller car parks, generally it is much better for there to be competition amongst CPOs, as this will drive up standards and keep tariffs competitive.

Try to avoid being too prescriptive in terms of what the solution should be, and just frame the challenge and requirements, leaving the respondents to propose innovative business models and charger options.

Believ will always advocate working with you to develop a tailored solution, with a mix of charger types across the full range of options to choose from; to best suit the specific needs and characteristics of any given street, car park or neighbourhood.

Encourage tenderers to adopt a longer-term approach and demonstrate their commitment to the area.

Ensure tender scoring incentivises not only deploying the greatest number of chargers, but also considers that the appropriate charge points are being proposed in the right locations, with suitable future proofing and growth in line with projected demand.