Issue - meetings

To provide the Panel with an overview of the Council’s EV charging provision within the South Holland area(report of the Joint Deputy Chief Executive – Programme Delivery and Assistant Director - General Fund Assets enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Joint Deputy Chief Executive – Programme Delivery and Assistant Director – General Funds Assets.

The Strategic and Operational Property Manager provided the following overview of SHDC’s Electric Vehicle Charging provision:

• SHDC had commandeered the car park EV Charging units in May 2023, alongside inheriting quite a few issues, which included difficulties with the contractor and the EV chargers; and
• Since taking on the EV charging units, the authority had made significant progress with MER, thus enabling a better working relationship. Many of the existing issues were down to misuse, for example, customers were not downloading the apps, and software problems within the machines. The authority would look to widen the range of EV units to span throughout the district, creating additional EV charging points, and replacing existing EV chargers which were coming to the end of their life span.

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

·       Members noted that although the report was detailed, it did not take into account how the council had a contract which was not robust;

·       Members suggested that the council did not enter into contracts where it would be responsible for the maintenance of the EV chargers; service and maintenance needed to be provided by the contractor.

o   The Strategic and Operational Property Manager responded that:

§  Assurance was given that renegotiation had ensured that those issues would not reoccur and that a new contract with BP provided a more robust contract, with BP taking full responsibility for the machines; and

§  When a customer was charging their vehicle in a pay and display car park, they would still be required to pay the car park fee for the duration of their stay.

• Members asked how the sites were chosen for EV charging points and were they in the correct locations? Was the wattage at the correct speed to charge vehicles efficiently?

o   The Strategic and Operational Property Manager responded that;

§  The locations for the EV chargers were designed to benefit residents as well as shoppers;

§  Locations were dictated by the national grid and where the distribution network could accommodate the power supply;

§  The Strategic and Operational Property Manager was currently undertaking a project with the National Grid to decipher where EV chargers could be located, thus finding more suitable areas which more of the population could use;

§  Although the current EV chargers were 7kw this could extend to 22 kw depending on what was available on the grid;

§  As technology improved and the EV charger’s software advanced, the chargers would be more efficient and robust; and

§  The cost per kw would be negotiated to lower the price to be competitive with other areas.

AGREED:

That the contents of the report be noted.