• • • EV • • •
A SPOTLIGHT ON THE CHARGE FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES
BY SAUL BERESFORD, DIRECTOR, KEY INTEGRATED SERVICES E
lectrical Engineering caught up with Saul Beresford, Director at the mechanical and electrical engineering company, Key
Integrated Services, to get his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities in the electric vehicle (EV) charging space.
From your perspective, what are the biggest technical challenges organisations underestimate when transitioning from traditional power demand to EV-driven electrical loads?
Many organisations think EV charging is just “adding a few chargers,” but the real impact is much bigger.
The common technical challenges organisations underestimate include how much extra power EV chargers actually need – especially with fast chargers. In a lot of cases, it is far more than a building has spare (capacity wise). And linked to this, you have the overall effect on the existing electrical system which may require cables, switchboards, and protective equipment upgrading. In addition, the space and associated civil works such as the chargers, power cabinets, ducting, and parking layouts, all need careful planning to help ensure the charging service is fit-for-purpose. But for me, the biggest challenge, is around high-voltage (HV) infrastructure…
As EV charging moves from small-scale installations to large commercial and fleet applications, how important is early consideration of HV infrastructure, and what risks arise when this is treated as an afterthought? For all types of EV charging, HV infrastructure is crucial and early consideration about this is critical
24 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • FEBRUARY 2026
because it ultimately governs the amount of power you can get onto a site. And it is important to remember, just because a request is made for a certain power requirement, it does not necessarily mean it will be granted with many other demands already placed on an overstretched grid. This is even more true in urban areas such as Birmingham, Manchester and London where there are well-known capacity issues. Early engagement with the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) will enable you to understand what power is available and all parties can plan accordingly – identifying the type and number of chargers you can have on site, etc. It is important to remember that lead times for transformers and the associated DNO works can be well over a year – best case scenario you are looking at 12 months. For large commercial and fleet operators, they really need to check what is realistic given what is possible given the current infrastructure. They need to consider other power sources such as
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