Berlin (energate) - The controversial obligation to build charging stations with card terminals may not come into effect this year after all. This is the result of a new, third draft amendment to the Charging Station Ordinance (LSV - Ladesäulenverordnung) by the Federal Ministry of Economics. This will not mean that the requirement is off the table, but it will only apply one year later from July 2024 on. The Ministry of Economics itself justifies the move by saying that it does not want to stall the ramp-up of e-mobility. The regulation has now been submitted to the EU Commission for notification. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Economics explained to energate that the departmental coordination has been underway since 10 March. Accordingly, the changes are to come into force by the end of June 2023 after approval by the Bundesrat.
Not enough devices available
Actually, operators who put a new charging station into operation should equip it with a card terminal for ad-hoc charging already from July this year. "By 1 July 2023, there will not be an adequate supply of charging points available on the market that meets the requirements of the Second Ordinance Amending the LSV regarding a uniform payment system for ad hoc charging and at the same time can meet the nationwide demand for charging points," the notification to the EU stated.
Another reason given by the ministry for the delay is the possible impact of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) on the payment of charging electricity in the EU. The AFIR is currently being negotiated in the trilogue. With the extension of the deadline, possible
regulations by the AF IR could still be taken into account. The card terminal obligation is
a thorn in the side of operators because of the additional expense. The federal government wants to make payment more user-friendly.
Stricter reporting requirements
With the planned change, the ministry also wants to make the public charging network more transparent. Until now, operators had to report their charging stations to the Federal Network Agency, but they could object to publication in the agency's register. The amendment is also intended to create a legal basis in the LSV for the fact that in future all publicly accessible charging points reported to the Federal Network Agency must be published in the authority's charging point register, the ministry spokesperson explained further. The draft and the communication can be viewed on the
EU Commission's website. /dz
