West Mercia Police: Case Study
Pod Point installed a combination of AC and DC charging for one of the largest police forces in the UK.
Last updated: Oct 16, 2023 • 5 min read
Highlights
In August 2023, Pod Point installed a combination of AC and DC charging points, as well as an Array Charging system, at West Mercia Police’s Worcester police station.
West Mercia Police (WMP) is one of the largest police forces in the UK, spanning 3,000 square miles.
Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) John Campion has set out ambitious decarbonisation plans for the force, including electrifying its fleet.
Following a recommendation from a neighbouring force, WMP reached out to Pod Point for expertise in EV charging infrastructure.
After various consultations to understand how the emergency vehicles operate, it was agreed that a combination of AC and DC charging was needed.
In total, Pod Point installed one dual 75kW rapid chargepoint and four 7kW Twin Chargers at the Worcester site.
The Array Charging system gives WMP the ability to expand their charging infrastructure in the future.
Client Overview
West Mercia Police (WMP) is one of the largest police forces in the UK, covering almost 3,000 square miles. The PCC has set out bold decarbonisation plans, and tasked WMP with the challenge to electrify their fleet.
Project Overview
After the PCC tasked the West Mercia Police fleet team with electrifying their fleet of emergency vehicles, the PCC’s estates team identified Worcester police station as a site for EV charging infrastructure. A neighbouring police force recommended that WMP reach out to Pod Point for some advice and expertise. The Worcester site already had some legacy EV charging equipment, but were interested in conducting a trial to gather some further insights and learnings about EV charging infrastructure best practices, as well as the range of electric vehicles on offer.
An initial consultation was conducted on WMP’s fleet which took into consideration: how many miles the fleet does per day, what vehicles were currently being used, the usage patterns of those vehicles, and their dwell times at the station. This consultation, combined with a feasibility study which was undertaken by Pod Point engineers, allowed for a look at the full picture from vehicle usage right through to incoming power supplies and cable routes. This meant Pod Point could provide an accurate quote for the installation of EV charging infrastructure and any necessary works.
Challenges
From the consultation and the feasibility study, Pod Point engineers learned that power supply to the site was limited.
To add to this, being an active and busy police station, there needed to be minimal disruption to access or power on-site at any one time. This would require careful project management and close coordination between Pod Point and WMP teams, to identify the best time to shutdown power to carry out the installation.
Pod Point engineers also learned that police officers don’t necessarily follow set daily patterns or spend set periods of time in and out of the site, meaning that their vehicle patterns were also difficult to predict. This meant that any EV charging solution needed to account for instances where EV emergency response vehicles could charge for a longer period of time, as well as occasions where vehicles needed a quick boost when their batteries were running low.
The Solution
To meet the varied use case of the emergency response vehicles and the low power levels on the site, it was agreed that a combination of AC and DC charging was required.
One dual 75kW rapid chargepoint and four Twin 7kW Chargers were installed on the Worcester site. The dual rapid chargepoint was installed to give a quick boost to vehicles with low battery during a quick changeover, while the Twin chargepoints offered capacity for eight vehicles to charge consistently and safely overnight. The chargepoints are set up on Pod Point’s Site Management Service, which allows WMP to review their charging information in one place, including tracking activity, usage and CO2 emissions avoided.
Groundworks were undertaken by Pod Point’s subcontractor, as well as electrical enabling works to install an Array system, which helped to solve the challenge of the low power supply. The system balances the available power across the four 7kW chargepoints, and creates a system which has plenty of scope for future expansion.
Pod Point took full responsibility as both the Principal Designer and Contractor, and managed various subcontractors and on-site teams to complete the installation on time and within budget. To minimise disruption and ensure there was no loss of power to the police station during the installation process, the Pod Point field team coordinated closely with WMP and subcontractors on the site.
From design right through to consultancy, installation and a full demonstration and detailed handover, Pod Point provided a full turnkey package for WMP and is still providing high quality on-going support as and when required.
The Results
In total, one dual 75kW rapid chargepoint and four Twin 7kW Chargers were installed at Worcester police station. The combination of AC and DC charging accommodates WMP’s varied working patterns and vehicle charging schedules.
Pod Point, as the Principal Designer and Contractor, completed the installation on time and on-budget, with minimal disruption to the active police site.
John Campion, Police and Crime Commissioner, said:
“It is great to have this infrastructure in place at Worcester police station. It is part of my wider commitment to ensure that West Mercia Police’s carbon footprint is reduced whilst still delivering a level of service the public expect. The chargepoints, that have been installed by Pod Point, are going to help deliver that.”