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In order to finally advance climate protection in the transport sector, the federal government is massively supporting electromobility.
With a “fast charging law”, the construction of charging stations with high performance is to be subsidized by the state soon.
The draft bill was sent to the associations and participating ministries at the end of last year.
Investors and operators of private charging infrastructure are now reacting “alarmed” to the aid plans.
"So far, there has been a broad consensus to expand the charging infrastructure in Germany in a market-driven manner," says a letter from the energy company EnBW to the state secretaries of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Tamara Zieschang and Steffen Bilger.
As a result of the planned law, however, the company fears “as the largest operator of fast charging infrastructure in Germany, there will be significant negative effects on the existing market and future competition”.
The letter is at WELT AM SONNTAG.
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EnBW plans to build around 3,000 new charging locations by 2025, partly in cooperation with retailers and restaurants, of which 500 will be this year.
The company from Baden-Württemberg is investing around 1.3 billion euros in expanding a fast charging network.
The state aid “threatens the danger of a state-induced parallel world with numerous negative consequences,” says the letter.
Because if the federal government couples its funding to upper price limits for charging processes, it will lead to “ruinous competition for the existing infrastructure”, fears EnBW.
Consequence of the threat of “fully comprehensive funding”: Planned locations would no longer be realized “because neither customers nor retail partners could negotiate higher prices than at the subsidized locations”.
All in all, according to Andreas Renner, Head of Politics and Government Affairs at EnBW, this would “do more harm than good to the ramp-up of electromobility”.
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EnBW also fears mischief when it comes to equipping new charging stations.
Requirements for credit card terminals or communication standards, for example, threaten “a patchwork of technical solutions and services”, which “unnecessarily increases the complexity and lack of transparency for all market participants”.
When asked by WELT AM SONNTAG, the Federal Ministry of Transport rejected the fears.
A spokeswoman for Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) assured that the stock of charging stations will be included in the further determination of requirements.
The responsible "National Control Center for Charging Infrastructure" has a digital tool that takes into account the location and performance of existing charging points in the planning for future requirements.
“So it can be ruled out that near
existing charging stations, new pillars of the planned fast charging network should be included in the planning, "explained the spokeswoman:" This will avoid competitive situations. "
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Should it nevertheless happen that existing operators can prove that they are suffering an unfair economic disadvantage through the development of the fast charging network, the possibility of compensation should be regulated in the planned fast charging law.
According to the Federal Network Agency's charging station register, there are currently only 798 charging points with an output of 150 kilowatts or more.
The planned fast-charging network is intended to close the existing local gaps in the fast-charging area with a view to medium and long-haul journeys, in other words, where engagement has so far been less attractive for private investors.
This article is from WELT AM SONNTAG. We will be happy to deliver them to your home on a regular basis.
Source: Welt am Sonntag