On Monday morning, it became known that the National Communications Authority (Nkom) will not object to the Swedish ban on the sale of Easee charging boxes. This means that it is moving towards a sales ban in Norway and the entire EEA. But it is not just a sales ban that is on the table: the Directorate for Social Security and Emergency Preparedness (DSB) can force Easee to upgrade all Easee chargers installed in Norway. Approximately 230,000 Easee charging boxes have been installed in Norway, says communications manager Kenneth Bjerga. – If they have to put in place a protection against earth faults, then the cost will probably be between NOK 4,000 and 5,000 per box. Because that will involve a new component plus a couple of hours with an electrician, says Jan Cato Hovde, who is general manager of Rejler’s electrical safety. NAF also informs news that the cost can end up being several thousand kroner per charging box. In that case, the cost of improving the charging boxes in Norway will quickly end up at least NOK 700 million. A not inconsiderable sum for a company in crisis which has stated to Dagens Næringsliv that they are initially seeking a loan of 300 million to invest further. However, DSB is waiting to make a decision before the decision falls to the Swedish administrative court. This is Easee In 2018, Jonas Helmikstøl, Kjetil Næsje and Steffen Mølgaard established the electric car charger company Easee. All had backgrounds from competitor Zaptec. The head office is in Stavanger. The company develops “smart” electric car chargers, and has experienced tremendous growth. In just a few years, the company has grown from three to around 500 employees. Easee has sold 700,000 chargers in Norway and Europe. The charging company’s turnover was close to two billion kroner last year. Operating profit before depreciation was between NOK 250 and 300 million, according to DN. 100,000 in Sweden In addition to the sales ban, the Swedish Elsäkerhetsverket has decided that Easee must upgrade the 100,000 charging boxes already installed in Sweden. The charging boxes lack satisfactory earth fault protection, according to the Swedes. In that case, the bill for Easee could end up at around NOK 1 billion to improve the charging boxes in Norway and Sweden. Photo: Tom Edvindsen While the EEA must initially follow a sales ban and thus ban the charging boxes throughout Europe, this point does not apply to the installation. It is something that each individual country decides. And in Norway it is therefore DSB. DSB interprets the decision from the Swedes as meaning that it will not necessarily end up in physical measures with the charging boxes. – For charging boxes that have already been installed in Sweden, Easee must propose measures. We do not want to speculate on what these measures might be, but as the trading ban is about insufficient documentation, sufficient documentation could be a possible measure, says Jon Eirik Holst, section manager at DSB. Wednesday deadline In Sweden, Easee has been given a deadline of 14 June to send over a plan for improving the charging boxes installed in Sweden. news has asked Easee a number of questions about this matter, but PR manager in the Nordic region, Kenneth Bjerga, answers as follows: Kenneth Bjerga, Easee’s PR manager in the Nordic region. Photo: Tom Edvindsen / news – We are on track to submit our plan to the Swedish authorities by the end of the deadline on 14 June. Unfortunately, we cannot go into details about this at this time. The deadline for implementation is one year from the original decision, says Bjerga. He emphasizes that there is currently no final conclusion in Sweden. – This is an ongoing legal process, and what we have been asked to do is to create a plan to find a solution, says Bjerga. Awaiting judgment DSB will wait with its decision until after the administrative court in Sweden has finally decided the case. It can take up to a year, according to the Swedish Safety Agency. – The installations are also part of the case which is now being processed in Sweden. Like Nkom, DSB is also awaiting a verdict in Sweden before we can make any decisions and take measures for Norwegian installations, says Jon Eirik Holst in DSB, to news. Jon Eirik Holst, head of section at DSB. Photo: Jan Harald Tomassen / news This causes NAF to react. The association asks the authorities to require improvements to all Norwegian Easee charging boxes. – If the sales ban remains in place, it is because there are deficiencies in the charging box. And if there are deficiencies in the charging box, the authorities in Norway must also come up with a rectification requirement. The Norwegian requirements for the equipment in electrical installations are at least as strict as in Sweden, says NAF press manager Ingunn Handagard to news. Ingunn Handagard, press manager at NAF. Photo: NAF – We have called for clear information to consumers about what happens next, because now there is great uncertainty, she says. Asking the authorities to be on the ball NAF is supported by Jan Cato Hovde, who is general manager of Rejler’s electrical safety, an expert company that supervises electrical installations. According to Hovde, there are several hundred inspection reports that have not been signed off. This is because the industry does not know how to deal with Easee’s charging boxes. – We who supervise facilities must know how the facilities should be. We have asked DSB how we should deal with facilities that obviously lack certain elements such as earth fault protection, but we have not received proper answers, he says. Already in March last year, he went out in DN and warned against errors with the electrical safety in charging boxes. – It is important that Nkom and DSB are on the ball and make some decisions here. Urges caution The Swedish Safety Agency does not believe that the charging boxes pose any immediate danger to people or material, but the Swedes recommend that people use the charger with a “certain amount of caution” until it is fixed. DSB does not make such a recommendation. – DSB, like the Swedish Safety Agency, has no indications that the charger is dangerous in use, and is not aware of any incidents where there has been a fire or other injuries to those who use the product. DSB therefore believes that consumers who have an Easee charger installed can use it as before, says Holst. However, DSB is monitoring the situation. – If unwanted incidents occur involving these charging boxes and we receive indications that this product may be dangerous, we will be able to make a decision on our own basis and reassess today’s current recommendation on continued use, says the section manager.
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DSB will decide whether 230,000 charging boxes need to be fixed – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
