Portsmouth City Council is conducting a preliminary market engagement (PME) exercise to shape its £3.68 million LEVI-funded program for expanding on-street electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. Having secured £3.5 million in capital funding from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), the council aims to appoint a private partner by September 2026 under a 15-year concession contract—potentially extendable to 16 years—to design, install, operate, maintain, and eventually decommission a network of primarily 7–22 kW dual-socket standalone chargepoints targeting residents without off-street parking, with the operator responsible for the majority of capital investment, all ongoing costs, and site identification in collaboration with the council. Informed by updated CENEX and NEVIS v6 demand modeling, the council is considering reducing the target from 3,600 low-power lamp-column units to fewer higher-capacity standalone points to better support long-term scalability and maintenance, while projected operator turnover could reach £1.8 million annually (£26.59 million over 15 years), with the council receiving a management fee and gain-share to cover its costs under an open-book arrangement. Interested operators must register on the In-tend e-sourcing portal, submit NDA, COI, and EOI forms (including case studies proving relevant concession-based EV experience) by November 12, 2025, to secure limited meeting slots, with formal procurement via Open Procedure expected to launch in April 2026.

More details about this market engagement can be found on our Business Opportunity page here.