SSE partners with Alfen on EV charging network

One of the UK’s largest energy firms, SSE Enterprise, has signed a 3-year framework agreement with charging company Alfen.

The deal will see Alfen provide smart, reliable EV charge points for SSE Enterprise customers. Its distributed energy business is rolling out its EV proposition commercially, based on its own real-world experience of transitioning to electric vehicles.

Alfen has supplied SSE Enterprise with its Eve Double charging stations for installations at both SSEs main employee bases in Perth and Reading as part of the deal.

The plan is for infrastructure to enable SSE to develop a zero emission fleet for its 12,000 staff – converting its 3,500 vehicle fleet to EV. The Alfen Eve Double EV charging station is designed for high usage and regular user changeovers. It houses two sockets and its integrated RFID reader enables user access control and monitoring.

To manage the load on the grid, smart charging and active load balancing can be integrated. This functionality allows customers to connect up to a 100 charge points on a single site and load balance across all vehicles charging. Charging speeds are maximized within the available local grid capacity, avoiding potentially expensive grid upgrade costs.

Kevin Welstead, EV director SSE Enterprise, said: “We want to demonstrate to other companies we can be their partner of choice when it comes to decarbonising their fleet or company cars and get SSE well on the road to net zero. Alfen is a high-quality manufacturer and a trusted partner and they form a key component to our offering to both our own fleet and those of our customers.”

Naomi Nye, Sales Manager at Alfen, adds: “From our years of experience working with other fleets in their journey to electrification across Europe, we know that reliable, intelligent chargers with adaptable technology backed up by great service are crucial to ensure drivers have an optimal experience with EVs.”