Commercial EV charging is one of the fastest-growing infrastructure requirements across the UK property and development sector. Car parks, retail parks, hospitality venues, housing developments, office campuses and fleet depots are all under pressure to provide EV charging capacity — and the limiting factor in almost every case is not the charger hardware, but the electrical infrastructure behind it.
R&D Cable Jointing delivers the LV and HV electrical infrastructure that makes commercial EV charging possible. We do not install charger pods — that is your charge point operator's scope. We deliver everything behind the charger: the cable runs, feeder pillars, substations, earthing, testing and connection day management that gives the CPO a live supply to connect to.
Not sure what electrical infrastructure you need? Send us the site plan, the number of charging points and the charger specifications. We'll tell you whether your existing LV supply is sufficient or whether you need a new DNO connection, feeder pillar or 11kV substation — and what that involves in terms of programme and cost.
Who We Work With
Our EV charging infrastructure work covers a range of client types — each with different site constraints, programme pressures and procurement arrangements:
- Commercial car park operators — multi-storey and surface car parks adding rapid charging bays for customers and tenants. Often require significant LV reinforcement or a new substation where the existing supply cannot support the total load.
- Housing developers and housebuilders — new residential developments required to provide EV charging for all or most parking spaces under Part S of the Building Regulations. We support ICPs and developers delivering the electrical infrastructure for residential EV charging as part of the wider ICP contestable connection.
- Hospitality and leisure venues — hotels, restaurants, leisure facilities and retail destinations adding EV charging to attract and retain customers. Often existing LV infrastructure needs assessing and reinforcing before chargers can be installed.
- Fleet depot operators — logistics, delivery, bus and commercial vehicle operators electrifying their fleets. High-power charging at scale means significant new electrical load — typically requiring new 11kV or 33kV infrastructure for larger depots.
- Office and business park landlords — adding EV charging to car parks as part of tenant attraction and green credentials. We deliver the sub-metered LV distribution infrastructure that allows individual tenants or charging operators to connect.
- Motorway service areas — high-power rapid and ultra-rapid charging hubs on the strategic road network requiring dedicated 11kV substations and significant new cable infrastructure.
- Retail and out-of-town commercial — supermarkets, retail parks and drive-through destinations adding customer charging. We work with the site's electrical contractor and charge point operator to integrate the new infrastructure into the existing site supply.
What We Deliver
Our scope on an EV charging project covers everything from the DNO connection point to the charger supply termination point. Depending on the size and load of your installation, this may include some or all of the following:
LV Feeder Pillar Connections
For smaller installations where the existing LV supply is sufficient — typically up to 6-8 AC chargers at 7-22kW per unit — the infrastructure requirement is a new feeder pillar connected to the existing LV network. We install the LV cable from the existing distribution board or MSDB to the feeder pillar position, make the connections and prepare the supply point for the CPO to connect their charger equipment. See our EVC Feeder Pillar Connections page for more detail.
LV Distribution and Reinforcement
Where the total EV charging load exceeds the available capacity on the existing LV network, we provide LV reinforcement works — new cable runs from the main distribution board, uprated switchgear connections, new MSDBs and sub-distribution boards. The extent of LV reinforcement is determined by the load assessment, which we can assist with as part of the pre-construction scope review.
11kV Substation Installation
Larger EV charging installations — rapid charging hubs, fleet depots, major car parks and motorway service areas — require a dedicated 11kV substation. The total load from multiple rapid or ultra-rapid chargers can easily exceed 500kW to 1MW, which requires a DNO connection at 11kV and a new substation to step the voltage down to LV for distribution to the charger positions.
We provide the full substation installation scope:
- 11kV cable jointing from the DNO connection point to the new substation
- Substation installation and fit-out to DNO/IDNO specification — earthing, small power, LV STC panels and CT wiring for COP metering
- LV distribution from the substation to the charger positions
- Testing, commissioning and DNO adoption support
- SAP attendance on connection day
33kV for Large-Scale Installations
The largest EV charging and fleet electrification projects — major motorway service area clusters, bus depot electrification programmes and large logistics fleet depots — may require 33kV connections where the total load exceeds what is available at 11kV. We provide 33kV cable jointing and termination works for these larger schemes.
ICP Contestable Connection Works
Where the EV charging project requires a new connection to the DNO network — rather than an extension of an existing supply — an ICP will manage the contestable works. We operate within ICP supply chains as the specialist HV jointing and substation contractor, delivering the HV cable and substation scope to DNO standards. See our Contestable vs Non-Contestable guide for more detail on how this works.
SAP Services on Connection Day
Energising a new EV charging substation requires a Senior Authorised Person to manage switching, issue Permits to Work and supervise the connection. Our in-house SAP capability up to 33kV means you do not need to coordinate a separate SAP contractor — we provide both the jointing and the SAP attendance under one contract.
The Infrastructure Challenge Behind EV Charging
Most EV charging conversations focus on the charger hardware — the pod, the software, the payment system. The harder problem is almost always the electrical infrastructure. Common challenges we help clients navigate:
- Existing LV supply insufficient — the site has a legacy LV supply sized for lighting, HVAC and general power, not for tens of kilowatts of EV charging load. A load assessment is needed before any charger specification is confirmed.
- Long cable routes — car parks and surface parking areas are often far from the electrical intake point. Long LV cable runs have significant voltage drop implications; in some cases an HV connection closer to the charger zone is more cost-effective.
- DNO capacity constraints — the local 11kV network may not have capacity at the nearest connection point. DNO reinforcement — which is non-contestable — can be a significant programme risk if not identified early.
- Programme coordination — EV charging installations involve civil works, electrical infrastructure, charger installation and DNO connection. Delays in any one strand affect all the others. We integrate with your principal contractor's programme and communicate clearly throughout.
- Part S compliance for developers — the Building Regulations Part S requirement for EV charging provisions on new residential and non-residential developments means EV infrastructure is now a standard item on most new-build projects. We support ICPs and developers meeting this requirement efficiently.
How We Work on EV Charging Projects
- Scope review — site plan, charger specification, connection voltage and load requirements reviewed before we quote.
- Infrastructure design input — we advise on whether the existing supply is sufficient, what new infrastructure is needed and how it integrates with the CPO's equipment specification.
- Programme alignment — we integrate with the civil contractor, CPO and principal contractor's programme. Electrical infrastructure is typically installed before the charger pods, so the CPO has a live supply to connect to on their installation day.
- Controlled installation — LV cable jointing and HV works carried out to manufacturer procedures, with clean documentation for DNO adoption and CPO commissioning.
- Testing, commissioning and handover — sheath testing, pre-energisation inspection, DNO adoption support and connection day management. We stay engaged until the chargers are live.
R&D Cable Jointing does not supply or install charger pods, charging management software or payment systems. Our scope is the electrical infrastructure — cables, substations, feeder pillars and connections — that gives your charge point operator a live supply to connect to.