All parking in new buildings to be pre-wired for charging, EU proposes

Drivers making the switch to zero-emissions vehicles will benefit from new requirements for parking spaces at homes and work to be pre-wired for electric car chargers. Pre-cabling for the installation of private chargers, where close to 90% of all charging occurs, would be required in new buildings and buildings undergoing extensive renovations, the EU Commission proposed today. However, Transport & Environment (T&E) cautioned against leaving behind the vast majority of motorists who live and work in existing buildings, where there will be no requirement.

New and renovated non-residential buildings, such as offices and shops, would also have to be equipped with a minimum number of installed charging points, according to the proposed new Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). And, for the first time, drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) would have the right to install a charger – at their own cost, if necessary – whenever they purchase or lease an EV in Europe. 

Fabian Sperka, vehicles policy manager at T&E, said: “If we expect drivers to go electric then we must remove the barriers to charging where most of it happens, at home and work. Requiring pre-cabling in new builds or major renovations only limits the charging roll-out to the tiny share of building stock that is constructed every year. Just 1% of existing buildings are renovated extensively annually.”

People and companies sometimes have to wait up to a year to have a charger installed. T&E said the EU proposals for a ‘right to plug’ – to give drivers a legal basis for installing a charger quickly wherever they live – could help cut through administrative procedures in member states, but it would need to be made more concrete. There should be a maximum time that drivers need to wait between requesting permission for and then installing a private charge point.

MEPs and EU governments will now debate the proposal before deciding on the final directive that will become law.