Central Bedfordshire Council has issued a public tender inviting service providers to bid for a 15-year concession contract to supply, install, operate, manage, and maintain at least 800 low-powered (up to 5kW) electric vehicle charge points integrated into on-street lampposts across residential areas in Central Bedfordshire, with the contract to be awarded to one successful bidder on 08 April 2026.

Central Bedfordshire Council has received GBP1,413,000 (US$1.89 million) from the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund, intended to expand the availability of on-street low-powered charging points in residential neighborhoods and promote the growth of this market. The contracts will be awarded through two separate procurement processes, divided by technology type: LEVI Tender 1 and LEVI Tender 2. Service providers may submit bids for either opportunity, but the same provider cannot be awarded both contracts.

LEVI Tender 1 involves the provision of residential charge points, both on-street and in hubs (car parks and parking areas) at speeds of 7-22kW. The requirements for this are to deliver a minimum of 500 charge points on-street (Group A locations) and 200 in hub locations (Group B locations). This project will be supplier-funded but supported by £1,298,000 (US$1.74 million) of the Council’s LEVI grant funding allocation.

LEVI Tender 2 involves the provision of residential charge points specifically within on-street lampposts at speeds of up to 5kW. The requirements for this are to deliver a minimum of 800 charge points on-street (Group A locations). This project will be supplier-funded but supported by £100,000 (US$0.13 million) of the Council’s LEVI grant funding allocation. The contract term for both contracts is 15 years, with the option to extend by 12 months for administrative purposes.

Both opportunities seek to appoint Service Providers who can deliver an end-to-end turnkey solution and demonstrate a commitment to maximising the use of the LEVI funding, whilst also investing in Central Bedfordshire. These partnerships will deliver the objectives of the Central Bedfordshire Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy and meet targets for charge point deployment. Charging infrastructure will be lower-powered and close to residential areas, spread across all settlements in Central Bedfordshire where we have identified a need for access to public charging, both now and in the years ahead. The evaluation criteria for the Central Bedfordshire Council tender place the strongest emphasis on quality, with bids assessed as follows: Quality (Bid Submission) carries the highest weighting at 80%, Price is weighted at 10%, and Social Value accounts for the remaining 10%.