On Thursday, the government’s new charging strategy was presented, a report that has been in demand for a long time. In recent years, customers and various organizations have reacted to the fact that there is a tangle of apps and SMS solutions for charging the electric car at the fast charging stations around the country. Both the Consumer Council and the Electric Vehicle Association have demanded that the charging industry be required to offer card payment. The government wrote in the new charging strategy that stricter requirements will now be placed on the industry. – Among other things, we will require card payment or contactless payment at all new charging points from 2023, and require easily accessible price information for charging, says Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård (Ap). The requirement for card payment or contactless payment will apply to all new charging points over 50 kW from 2023. In addition, there will be a deadline for retrofitting at current charging stations, a deadline that has not yet been determined. It will be decided when the proposal is now published on hearing. 90 percent state that it is complicated with too many apps and operators, according to a survey by the Electric Vehicle Association. Photo: Elise Pedersen / news – Too complicated Today there are several players who offer charging with an app or with their own chip that only works at their own stations. This has meant that the charging offer appears unclear and unnecessarily complicated, the government believes. It is shown that the transport sector accounts for a third of Norwegian emissions, and that these emissions must be greatly reduced in order to reach the climate targets. – This means that much of the car transport has to go electric, both for people and goods. The charging offer along the vegan route must therefore be well developed and easy to use, says Nygård. Ministers from the various government parties were present when the new charging strategy was presented on Thursday. From the left, climate and environment minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap), transport minister Jon-Ivar Nygård (Ap) and children and family minister Kjersti Toppe (Sp) Photo: Trond Lydersen / news Measures will also be taken to make it easier to follow at what price the various companies operate. It is required that price information be readily available before charging, so that motorists can easily compare prices across charging operators. A market portal for rapid charging of light vehicles may be introduced. As a driver, you should be able to check whether publicly available charging stations are free or occupied. Electric motorist Kristian Kyrvestad, whom news meets in Førde, has been calling for stricter requirements for the industry for a long time. – I would like them to change it so that you can use the card instead. Kristian Kyrvestad believes that it is about time that it becomes easier to pay by card. Photo: Arne Stubhaug / news Defending against overly strict requirements Today there are around 5,300 fast chargers in Norway. By 2025, the aim is to increase the number to 9,000 chargers. The industry association for companies that sell energy and liquid fuel, Drivkraft Norge, warns against several of the proposals the government is now bringing forward. A requirement to retrofit card payment solutions on 5,000 existing rapid chargers could lead to a complete halt in further development of the charging offer, writes the organization in a post. – There is sometimes a long delivery time for new charging stations with the right technical solutions, according to CEO. Kristin Bremer Bebben. The organization refers to an assessment that the Norwegian Competition Authority made earlier this year, where it was warned against too strict regulation of the market. This can lead to worse competition and higher prices for consumers, according to the authority. – Drivkraft Norge supports these assessments. Recently, we have seen several examples of players offering new and consumer-friendly solutions without the governing authorities having regulated this. – Says According to the annual survey conducted by the Electric Vehicle Association, 90 per cent in 2022 believe that it is complicated with many apps and operators. This is significantly more than last year, when 75 per cent thought the same. 80 per cent in the survey expressed that they would like to be able to pay with a payment card directly on the charger (blocking). Secretary General of the Electric Vehicle Association, Christina Bu, calls it “saying” that there will now be demands for card payments. – This is something we have worked for for ten years. What is problematic today is that we have countless companies with different payment models, different apps. It’s just too complicated for people. Christina Bu of the Electric Vehicle Association calls the proposal a “saying”. Photo: erik m sundt / erik m sundt She believes it is crucial that it does not take too long before there is a demand for retrofitting already developed stations. It is expected that the EU will come up with a requirement that all new and existing chargers must have card payment by 2027. In addition, there will probably be a requirement for so-called “e-roaming”, which means that you can use a charging app to pay at all fast charging points for electric car.
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Introduces card payment requirements – news Vestland
