M
Member
Speaking in the House of Lords on 24 July 2025
Debate
Planning and Infrastructure BillContribution
Another question that has been raised is whether we need an installation programme for electric charging points suitable for HGVs, on which my noble friend Lord Lansley commented. There is still a question mark as to whether EV or hydrogen or synthetic fuel will be the right solution for HGVs. Then there is the question of whether we should mandate HV charging infrastructures in newly built or substantially renovated freight depots and HGV operation buildings. My experience at Amey, as first-place provider on the procurement services framework for depot and fleet charging, is that I believe the mandate would be welcome, but the practicalities and affordability may prohibit the mandate due to the significant capex costs. Larger-scale installations need significant network reinforcement and infrastructure investment, and I suspect that trying to balance the optimum logistics hub locations versus the DNO network may pose a challenge. I looked at the First Bus initiative in Norwich, which has been excellent in electrifying the bus fleet; however, its DNO HV supply came from 2 kilometres away, resulting in a connection cost of some millions of pounds. These are some of the issues that we need to address.
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