Decision details

9.1

The committee considered a report of the Executive Director for City Futures which looked to develop a procurement proposal for a commercial partner(s) to work with Sheffield City Council to deliver EV charging infrastructure.

The proposal provided opportunity to support the development of a commercially sustainable network of public electric vehicle chargepoints for residents, businesses and visitors to the City.

9.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee:-

1.    Approves the completion of a commissioning and procurement exercise to appoint external provider(s) capable of providing public electric vehicle chargepoint solutions for residents, businesses and visitors to Sheffield; and

2.    Authorises the Executive Director, City Futures, in consultation with the Director of Finance and Commercial Services and the Director of Legal and Governance to procure and enter into contract with provider(s) for this purpose.

3.    Note that any expenditure under the appointed contract(s) will be subject to separate authorisation.

9.3

Reasons for Decision

9.3.1

This recommendation is part of ongoing work with the Council’s Commercial Services to achieve a commercially sustainable public electric vehicle charging network for residents, businesses and visitors to Sheffield. Further work will be undertaken including soft market testing with suppliers to ensure the best approach to market is taken. The recommendation provides significant benefits, including the opportunity for:

• A reduction in financial risk to the Council in delivering electric vehicle charging infrastructure

• The ability to bring in private investment to match government funding and further expand the available network whilst reducing reliance on public funding

• The ability to access private sector skills, expertise and knowledge to develop a commercially sustainable electric vehicle charging network

9.3.2

If the recommendation is supported, the Council would look to procure an external supplier(s) for delivery as outlined above.

9.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

9.4.1

Detailed consideration of the options were outlined in Appendix A to the report.

9.4.2

An alternative to the proposed concession (or similar) agreement approach would be to develop specific projects internally and then go out to procure agreements for each of the projects individually. This is not recommended (unless there are project specific requirements that necessitate it) as it would result in a disjointed citywide provision, not bring in the knowledge, skills and expertise of the electric vehicle chargepoint operators making a commercially sustainable network harder to achieve and increase the resource required for both procurement and contract management from the Council.