The traffic light coalition has set itself the goal of putting 15 million electric cars on the road by 2030. In order for this to be achieved, the energy industry believes that there is an urgent need for action when it comes to expanding the charging infrastructure.
The energy industry has asked the federal government to change its strategy for promoting electromobility in important points.
The general manager of the Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), Kerstin Andreae, demanded that the federal government make more space available that could be used for charging stations on Tuesday. Although the federal government has over 19,000 properties, it has not entered a single location in the area tool for the expansion of the charging network.
The association advocated simplifying the promotion of the expansion. “We need faster approval procedures for the charging stations and for the power grids,” said Andreae. At the same time, she warned against making the expansion more complicated with additional requirements. “Constant upgrades for calibration law, card terminals and smart meter gateways are obstacles to the expansion of the charging infrastructure.”
The association was critical of the planned nationwide network of fast charging stations, which was announced in August 2021 by then Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer. The BDEW agreed with the Bundeskartellamt’s view that the planned setting of upper price limits for the charging tariffs is disturbing. The pricing policy could crowd out existing or planned offers and stand in the way of rapid expansion.
U-turn in taxation called for
At the press conference, BDEW and the environmental organization Transport & Environment (T&E) called for a turnaround in car taxation. Company car taxation is an underestimated lever for electrification, said Stef Cornelis, director of T&E Germany. The traffic light coalition must increase taxes on cars with combustion engines and end purchase premiums for plug-in hybrids that can also be driven with fossil fuels. “Plug-in hybrids increase the problem because they are hardly ever driven with electricity and consume even more fuel than normal combustion engines because of their high weight.”
Despite the complaints about poor general conditions, BDEW boss Andreae drew a positive balance from the expansion of the charging network. At the beginning of 2021 there were 41,600 public charging points, currently there are 62,000. The number of particularly efficient fast charging stations has grown even more: from 5752 in January 2021 to 9395. In addition, today’s charging stations are much more efficient than 5 years ago.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
