MORE than 70 electric vehicle charging points will be installed in 30 locations across Gwent by the end of March next year.

The contract for the installation has been awarded to Narberth company Silverstone Green Energy Limited.

They will install 73 charge points across 33 locations in Gwent. They will also provide the operation and maintenance of the electric vehicle charge points on behalf of the five Gwent councils.

The electric vehicle charge points will be installed in car parks near residential areas to support residents without off street parking switching to electric vehicles.

The aim is to address barriers to residential electric vehicle take-up caused by having no dedicated off street parking.

In total, the contract will cost the five authorities £603,809.

This will be part-funded by a grant awarded to the five councils of £459,000 from the UK Government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles to install the charging points.

The project was also supported financially by the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales (NRW), which funded a feasibility study.

On the Sell2Wales website, where contracts can be tendered and award notices issued, the notice says it is a contractual obligation that all chargers must be installed and operational by March 24 2020.

The contractor will be responsible for ongoing maintenance of the installed chargers, including warranty and maintenance support, for a five-year period.