Turkish electric vehicle (EV) charging stations will be able to function without an operator license according to Turkish energy watchdog's proposed legislation, Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) said Thursday.
EMRA devised its draft legislation stipulating that no license is necessary for EV charging stations, official information gathered by Anadolu Agency (AA) reveals.
This marks a departure from the normal obligation for conventional car fuel suppliers including gasoline, diesel, Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) or Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), who are required to obtain licenses from EMRA to operate in the Turkish market.
EMRA will soon post Procedures and Principles Regarding The Electric Vehicle Charging Stations on their website for public consultation until mid-December, EMRA officials said.
The regulation proposes that companies apply to the electricity distribution company in their respective regions to open and provide a service to all electric cars without the need for a contract.
Last week, EMRA's head Mustafa Yilmaz told AA exclusively that EMRA finalized its research to analyze internationally recognized business models, technologies and regulations on charging stations.
The draft regulation proposes that charging stations will not generate profits from the electricity they sell, but will rather receive a service fee, which has to be disclosed to the distribution company.
Despite the relatively high sales volumes of hybrid cars in Turkey, there are only a small number of charging stations available, which hinders the sales of fully electric cars.
The proposal to operate charging stations without a license is seen as an incentive to promote the usage of fully electric cars in the country.
A Turkish consortium including Anadolu Group, BMC, Kiraca Holding, Turkcell, and Zorlu Holding will jointly manufacture Turkey's first homemade car, which is set to be fully electric.
Turkey's fully electric and hybrid car sales increased by 805.6 percent to 2,763 in the first nine months of 2017, compared to 300 in first nine months of 2016, according to Turkey's Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Association.
By Muhsin Baris Tiryakioglu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr