New EV charging network across Greater Manchester

As part of Greater Manchester’s vision to make the city EV friendly to support air quality and carbon reduction targets, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) are modernising and expanding the public network of EV charging points across the city. As electric vehicles become more affordable, with improved battery capacity and range of models to choose from, it’s becoming easier than ever to go electric. To encourage the move towards cleaner vehicles, Greater Manchester will be introducing a Clean Air Zone from Spring 2022. Vans, buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles, minibuses and heavy goods vehicles that do not meet emission standards would pay a daily charge to travel in the Zone. It’s therefore vital that sufficient charging infrastructure is in place to support future demand for greener travel. 

Another major factor accelerating this shift to net zero emission vehicles is the government’s ‘Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution’. Announced in November 2020, the plan sets out the UK’s commitment to tackling greenhouse gas emissions, including investing £1.3 billion to roll out EV charging infrastructure on major roads and installing more on-street charge points near homes and workplaces to make charging as easy as refuelling a petrol or diesel car. The UK will also ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, ten years earlier than planned. 

To facilitate this transition, TfGM secured £3 million in funding from the government’s Clean Air Plan Early Measures Fund and began upgrading the network in 2020 in partnership with Electricity North West and Amey’s new EV charging infrastructure brand, Be.EV. The first phase of work involved upgrading over 100 fast chargers and installing a number of new rapid chargers across all ten councils in the Greater Manchester region.

                                                 Electricity North West Energy Solutions Director, Mark Williamson, met with Wayne Leggett, TfGM EV Network Delivery Manager at Newbridge Lane Car Park in Stockport, a location that recently went live with one of the first 25 Early Measures Funded, EV Rapid Chargers on the Be.EV charging network

Having recently completed a successful partnership with TfGM on Manchester’s Metrolink scheme in 2019, TfGM approached Electricity North West in early 2020 with a request to assess a list of forty potential EV charging point sites across Greater Manchester. Our Connections team provided their expertise in Low Voltage (LV) network design to plan and construct the infrastructure required to serve this new network of electric vehicle charging points. With a strong understanding of the network, our team determined the best possible design solution, narrowing down the list based on the most efficient and cost-effective point of connections to best utilise their budget. Working closely with TfGM, a total of fouteen sites were agreed upon to install in 2020, with more sites to follow in 2021. Each site consists of roughly two rapid and fast Be.EV pay as you go charging points. You can view a map of all Be.EV charging points and sign up to become a free member here.

Our Operations team ensured the offsite work including jointing and LV cable laying was carried out as soon as possible whilst traffic was at a minimum during Covid 19. The team prioritised the busier sites, such as Deansgate Square in Manchester, to minimise disruption to the public. With support from the Highways Council, the Operations team were able to efficiently install the infrastructure required to connect the electric vehicle charging hubs to the electricity network, allowing the hubs to be energised and made available for public use on schedule.

Wayne Leggett, EV Network Delivery Manager at TfGM said: "I would like to convey my thanks to the team at Electricity North West for their valued and continued support in providing connections. Our respective teams have formed a strong partnership, which at times feels like dealing with internal colleagues at Transport for Greater Manchester. Looking ahead we have a number of projects that will provide more charging infrastructure in Greater Manchester and I look forward to working with the connections team in building what will be an exemplary EV Charging Network."

Paul Dixon from Electricity North West's Operations team carries out jointing work to facilitate the installation of two new EV charging points on Wellington Road in Swinton.

Electricity North West are proud to play a part in the North West's journey to Net Zero Carbon and we look forward to continuing the expansion of the EV network with Transport for Greater Manchester in 2021.