National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) has embarked on a major programme of EV charging point installation around the country, backed by a £13m investment.

The distribution network operator (DNO), which covers the South West, South Wales and the Midlands, is installing more than 182 EV charger bays at 83 primary substations and eight offices.

This will bring the total number of charging bays across NGED to 444, making it one of the UK’s largest privately owned charging networks.

NGED is making the multi-million-pound investment to build strategically placed charge points to meet the needs of its frontline workers, who are using an increasingly electrified fleet for the DNO’s 24/7 operations.

Employees drive more than a thousand EVs, including 400 commercial vans and 600 cars, with new models – such as the converted Škoda Enyaq AWD van and Ford Explorer – designed and type-approved to ensure the commercial EV fleet develops within the utility sector.

The additional EV charger sites have been selected after examining the NGED workforce’s most frequently travelled urban and rural routes. As each new site is commissioned, it will appear on an app that is used by NGED employees to find and use charging stations.

Ian Smith, NGED head of operations support, said: “We’re committed to providing a strategically located charging infrastructure to enable us to grow our decarbonised fleet, while at the same time maintaining an excellent standard of service to our 20 million customers.

“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.

“Combined with new charge facilities at depots across our region from Lincoln to Llanfihangel-ar-arth, we’re aiming to give our teams flexibility on where they can top-up their charge, minimising range anxiety. In turn this will reduce unnecessary travel time while maximising speed of response for our customers.

“This investment brings to life our drive to net zero and for operational staff to be no more than 10 miles from a reliable NGED-operated EV charger.”

NGED has been working with contractor Rock Power Connections on the installation programme.

Chris Rigby of Rock Power Connections said: “Working across all four licence areas, managing civil operations and installing both HV and LV apparatus, we have been able to establish a network of high power DC chargers for their fleet.

“We have a long-standing working relationship with NGED, and we look forward to continuing that as we build towards a more sustainable future.