Who's who in a depot install: installer, DNO, ICP, CPO

A depot install involves several different organisations, and mixing up who does what is a common cause of delay. Here’s the cast, in plain terms.

The installer

A specialist EV charging installer — usually an accredited electrical contractor — supplies and fits the chargers and carries out the on-site civil works like trenching and cabling. Many also provide or integrate the smart-charging software. This is your main delivery partner for everything inside your fence.

The DNO

Your Distribution Network Operator owns the local electricity network and controls how much power your site can draw. You engage them to confirm or increase your connection capacity. They’re separate from your energy supplier, who sells you the electricity itself, and their lead times often set the pace of the whole project.

The ICP

For larger connection works, an Independent Connection Provider — an accredited contractor — can carry out the competitive (“contestable”) parts of a grid connection as an alternative to the DNO doing it, sometimes faster or cheaper. Your installer or consultant will advise whether this route helps.

The CPO / software provider

A Charge Point Operator or back-office software provider runs the management system behind the chargers — monitoring, billing, smart-charging rules and reporting. With OCPP hardware, this can be changed independently of the chargers.

Making it work

On a first or complex project, an independent consultant can specify the system, run a fair procurement and coordinate these parties — keeping the grid, civils and software moving in step rather than tripping over each other.