How UK councils are structuring EV charging concessions

There is no single way to buy public EV charging. UK councils are using several procurement models, and the one they choose shapes who can win and how the money flows. For anyone bidding, reading the model correctly is half the battle.

Concessions: the dominant LEVI model

Most large on-street programmes run as long concessions, often 10 to 15 years. The operator funds, builds and runs the network and earns its return from charging revenue, sharing a portion back to the authority. The council commits land and access rather than cash. These are the biggest prizes, and they reward bidders who can deliver end to end.

The West of England's WESTCharge shows the shape: a 15-year concession for the region's on-street network, in market now with bids due 30 March 2027, carrying a £167.5 million headline. Read that figure the right way: it is the operator's projected revenue across the term, not what the combined authority spends. Central Bedfordshire's LEVI Tender 1 runs the same playbook at county scale, led by lamppost charging.

Frameworks and call-offs

Smaller or faster procurements often run through established frameworks. A framework appointment does not guarantee work, but it puts you in the room for call-offs. For installers and electrical contractors, the right framework position is frequently the difference between seeing the work and missing it.

Lewisham shows how that works in practice. The council appointed Zest through the NEPO232 framework after a mini-competition: a £1.5 million call-off for the installation, operation and maintenance of charge points, awarded in April 2025. The framework position is what put Zest in that room.

Direct supply and services

Some authorities still buy in the conventional way: a defined supply or services contract for a set scope, such as maintenance of an existing estate or a feasibility study. These are smaller, but they are well-defined and competitive, and a sensible entry point for newer bidders.

Richmond and Wandsworth's joint contract for the operation, maintenance and servicing of lamp-column charge points is the shape of it: awarded to char.gy in January 2024 at £87,570. Small, precisely scoped, and a real foothold with a public buyer.

Why it matters

Which model an authority reaches for varies with the need, and its award history is the most reliable guide to how the next procurement will run. That history is exactly what the organisation and award pages on EVTenders are for.

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