The Ministry of Climate and Environment has published a draft amendment to the Act of 11 January 2018 on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels and certain other acts which proposes new regulations on the charging of e-cars. Among the acts which the draft proposes to amend are the Act of 7 July 1994 (the Building Law) and the Act of 10 April 1997 (the Energy Law).
Within the meaning of the Act on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels, a 'charging point' is understood as:
a device enabling charging of a single electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle and a zero-emission bus, and the place where the battery used to power the vehicle is replaced or charged.(1)
The proposed amendments to the Building Law include a new provision on charging points in multi-family residential buildings.(2) According to the wording of the draft amendment, in buildings where there are more than three separate and non-separate units, the management of the housing community (if appointed) or the owners of the property must commission an expert report, comprising of an assessment of the electrical installation of the building in question, as part of the compulsory examination of the installation in order to determine the acceptability of connecting charging points thereto. The draft indicates that this report should, among other things, specify the building's installed load to be used by charging points or the maximum number and capacity of charging points that can be connected to the electrical installation. Further, as explained in the explanatory memorandum to the draft amendment, for safety reasons, said expert report should be drawn up after any change concerning the charging points to which residents will have access.
With regard to the proposed amendments to the Energy Law, the author of the draft has indicated in the explanatory memorandum that measures will be taken to facilitate the billing of energy consumption and distribution costs for situations where an entity has two points of connection to the grid – energy in a flat and an individual charging point in a car park.(3) This is to be achieved by concluding a single comprehensive agreement, while the settlement will be performed based on a single invoice issued for both connection points.
The changes proposed by the Ministry of Climate and Environment primarily serve to identify the elements to be considered when testing electrical installations in multi-family buildings in order to ensure the safety of all charging point users. Moreover, the changes regarding the manner of settlements for energy used between an energy company and an entity owning two charging points represent a significant simplification and standardisation of the procedure for both existing and potential users.
Endnotes
(1) Act of 11 January 2018 on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels (Journal of Laws of 2020, Item 908 as amended).
(2) Draft amendment to the Act of 11 January 2018 on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels, p 19.
(3) Explanatory memorandum of the draft amendment to the Act of 10 April 1997 (Energy Law), p 24.
