National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) has begun a mass rollout of EV charging stations at its substations and offices to help decarbonise its operational fleet.
The distribution network operator (DNO), which covers the Midlands, South Wales, and the South West of England, has announced that it will install over 182 EV charging bays across 83 primary substations and eight of its offices, bringing the total number of charging bays in its network to 444. NGED states that this makes it one of the UK’s largest privately owned EV charging networks.
The chargepoints will be used to support the firm’s operational fleet, which totals over 1,000 EVs; this includes 400 commercial electric vans and 600 EV cars. The charger sites were selected following a comprehensive examination of the NGED workforce’s most frequently travelled routes, and will be supported by a £13 million investment from the DNO.
Furthermore, NGED has stated that it has an ambition of having a widespread network that ensures that no operational staff member is ever more than ten miles from a functioning NGED-operated charger. As each new EV charging site is commissioned, it will be added to a bespoke app used by NGED employees to locate and use EV charging stations. All of the newly installed chargers will be high-powered direct current (DC) units.
Ian Smith, NGED head of operations support, said that the DNO is “committed to providing a strategically located charging infrastructure” to help grow its decarbonised fleet. He added: “Using substations as charging locations makes logistical and financial sense as a way of expanding our network for NGED EV drivers, who are out and about seven days a week and often operating in severe weather.”
Fleet decarbonisation efforts on the rise
NGED is not the only firm in the utilities sector working to expand its EV fleet. Last week, water supplier Southern Water announced plans to partner with Novuna Vehicle Solutions to transition its vehicle fleet to EVs. Under the £33 million, five-year contract, Novuna Vehicle Solutions will replace all of Southern Water’s fleet of diesel vans and company cars with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), as well as install EV chargers at 36 of Southern Water’s work sites and the homes of several relevant employees. The first installations of these EV chargers are set to begin at the utility’s offices in Durrington and Falmer in the coming weeks.
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