North East Combined Authority opens market testing for £5 million LEVI Phase One charging concession
The North East Combined Authority is testing the market ahead of procuring Phase One of its Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure programme, worth approximately £5 million of public charging infrastructure across Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear on a 15 year concession. The authority has £15.829 million of LEVI capital in total and is asking charge point operators to book slots with its ZEV team by 9 October 2026 to answer six questions, including whether they would bid for a concession model where the council retains ownership of chargepoints, the operator pays a fixed annual sum for five years, and then moves to revenue sharing.
Why it matters: This early market engagement gives CPOs a chance to shape the commercial terms of a significant regional deployment before formal procurement begins, with the concession structure and revenue split model likely to influence how operators price risk and returns over the 15 year contract term.