Newcastle City Council implemented a climate change strategy in 2018 with aspirations to become carbon neutral by 2030. As a result, the authority has committed to the procurement of electric vehicles via an electric by default policy – meaning all new cars and small vans will be electric powered as opposed to diesel.
The procurement process to obtain up to forty new electric vehicles over the next two years has begun – this will ensure a seamless transfer from the current diesel vehicles to an electric fleet. In addition, there is a requirement for a re-charging infrastructure to be installed within the Council’s depots.
The Council engaged with TPPL for the procurement of electric vehicle charging points to enable the recharging of these vehicles at their council depots. The system needed to be smart in its energy delivery to ensure their current infrastructure is not overloaded during peak demand. The proposal was to install thirty-four charge points with software to measure the energy usage per vehicle. The deadline was tight and required installation within two months of placing the orders. Throughout the process, TPPL provided guidance around the specification to be used, delivered a list of appropriate optional items that they may wish to consider, and advised on the ways of accessing the framework.
With the support of TPPL’s team, they carried out a competitive mini tender utllising the TPPL framework and as a result, received a number of responses which were evaluated on both quality and price. Despite the tight deadline around the required locations of the charging units, the awarded supplier delivered and installed the products very efficiently, despite some difficult locations.
The successful supplier – Elmtronics, supplied and installed thirty-four charging units across four sites, including the Civic Centre underground car park. The sites were surveyed and installation started immediately, the installs worked well and the charging infrastructure is now operational.
To find out more about TPPL’s framework procurement solutions, contact a member of our team
via enquiries@tppl.co.uk or call 01954 250517.