Sales bans, redundancies and crises have characterized the Norwegian company since March. Today, the conclusion from the National Communications Authority (Nkom) is clear: They warn that no one may sell Easee chargers in Norway. On 14 March, the Elsäkerhetsverket introduced a ban on the sale of Easee chargers in Sweden. This led to a crisis for the company, which was forced to lay off employees and, according to DN, raise up to NOK one billion to survive. There has been great tension as to whether the Norwegian authorities will follow the Swedes. In the conclusion of Nkom, it is stated that “after careful consideration, it has been decided that there will be no objection to the Swedish Safety Agency’s conclusion in the matter”. This could lead to a sales ban in the entire EEA for the two charging boxes from Easee. Nkom will not issue an order to Easee until the case is finally settled, they report in the press release. The Easee case: This has happened The Swedish supervisory body Elsäkerhetsverket questioned Easee’s chargers Easee Home and Easee Charge in February. On March 14, it was decided to completely stop sales in Sweden. The background is, among other things, that the charging box does not have an earth fault breaker that meets the requirements of the Swedish authorities. In Norway, the Easee chargers are still sold, but several Easee dealers have temporarily stopped selling and installing the chargers. Easee has announced that they will appeal the decision to the Swedish Safety Agency, and collect money from investors. But the case can take time, and as a consequence, subcontractor Norautron sent notice of dismissal to 81 of its employees on Tuesday 21 March. On March 17, Easee announced mass layoffs of its employees. On 24 March, 138 of the company’s employees were made redundant. On 4 April, Easee announced that the Netherlands is also considering a sales ban. Moves towards a ban in the entire EEA If no other countries in the EEA object to the conclusion from the Swedish Elsäkerhetsverket by 15 June, Easee will be obliged to follow up the decision throughout the EEA. Then the administrative court in Sweden must also confirm the decision. This means a sales ban in all countries in the EEA, including Norway. – We had hoped that it would be possible to conclude differently in the case. Unfortunately, Easee, despite having been given credit, has not sufficiently documented that Easee Home and Easee Charge meet the requirements. That’s what Nkom department director John-Eivind Velure writes in the press release. – For example, Easee has not documented the safety of the product when used over time and when used under different climatic conditions. We also believe that the safety of the solution for connecting the relays is not sufficiently well documented. The heart of the dispute In recent months, Nkom has gone through the documentation from the Swedish Electricity Authority. It is the earth fault protection in particular that the Swedes have responded to. They believe, among other things, that the earth fault circuit breaker must be mechanical, and that there must be a physical button on the box. Easee’s switch is digital and can only be turned on and off manually via an app. Easee, for its part, is clear that the charging box is safe. They refer to 600,000 installed electric car chargers in Norway and Europe and almost 60 million charging sessions. In any case, the Swedish Safety Agency lacks a risk analysis that proves that Easee’s solution is as good or better than the standard solutions. Founder Jonas Helmikstøl has previously stated that the case is about documentation, not security. Jonas Helmikstøl, founder of Easee. Photo: Tom Edvindsen / news – We could have taken care of things even more. We have grown extremely fast, and have taken on board the things that have come up. It has nothing to do with product safety, Helmikstøl told news in March. Lifebuoy Until the Swedes dropped the bomb on 14 March, Easee was a formidable success story. The company had sales of around NOK 2 billion in 2022, according to DN. In the same year, founder Helmikstøl had an estimated fortune of 2.3 billion, according to Kapital. Nkom’s decision may have consequences for Easee’s future. Basically, the entire EU/EEA must follow the Swedes and ban the charger, but Easee has a lifeline: A country that disagrees with the Swedes’ conclusion can ask the European Commission to decide the matter. If the commission also believes that the Swedes are wrong, the sales ban in Sweden must be lifted.
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Sales freeze in Norway – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
