Central Bedfordshire Council has invited bids from EV charging infrastructure service providers to supply, install, operate, manage, and maintain a public electric vehicle charging network across Central Bedfordshire, UK, under its £35 million (US$47 million) LEVI Tender 1 concession programme.

The Council requires Service Providers for two concession contracts for the supply, installation, operation, management, and maintenance of a network of public electric vehicle charge points and associated services, at locations across Central Bedfordshire. Appointment to these contracts will be done via two separate procurement exercises, split by technology type – LEVI Tender 1 and LEVI Tender 2. Service Providers can bid for either of the two opportunities, but cannot win both.

• 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 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 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.