The Essential Guide for Last Mile EV Charging

The power required for EV charging infrastructure is demanding, and the amount of electricity available at any given site is finite. Before you can draw up your strategy, you need to understand how much power is available for your last mile EV fleet. You can do this by calculating your existing usage and determining how much will remain from your grid connection.

Once you have calculated the amount of available power to charge your last mile fleet effectively, ask the following questions surrounding your operations: 

• What types of vehicles do you use?
• How predictable are your routes?
• How much downtime can you afford?
• Where is your fleet based? 
• How much budget is available for the project?
• Do you plan to expand your fleet in the future?

The answers to these questions will inform your decision on what type of EV chargers you need, as well as how many and when you will use them. Charging providers typically offer different commercial and funding models, depending on fleet size, usage and budget, ranging from charging as a service to fully funded options, depending on your needs and budget. 

Once you know how much power is available and what your organisation requires for your EV fleet’s operations, you need to decide on how to proceed. Do you already have an EV charging partner in mind to help with the planning and installation, or are you going out to tender? Often, even if you choose the latter, it is good to seek advice from an experienced charge point operator on how to specify the tender to ensure you get the best outcome, both operationally and financially.

Once a charging partner is selected, the installation phase brings together site surveys, detailed design, grid connection works and physical deployment of charge points. 

Ongoing operation typically includes maintenance, monitoring, support agreements and driver training to ensure chargers remain reliable and widely adopted.