Deputies propose easier regime for building charging stations for electric cars in cooperatives and blocks of flats

A simplified regime for the construction of charging stations in cooperatives and blocks of flats provides for the amendment to the Law on the Management of Condominiums, which was adopted at the first reading in the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, submitted by the deputy from “Democratic Bulgaria” Ivaylo Mirchev and other representatives from “We continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria”, announced the formation.

If the owner of an electric car lives in a cooperative with 100 apartments and does not have a garage, but has a parking space, with a simple majority of the condominium, he can get permission to build a charging station, Mirchev explained to the commission. And he gave an example of comical situations, including with deputies, where cables for charging electric cars were hung from balconies and windows.

“This will stimulate many people to buy an electric car, it is also the first step in the process of transitioning to smart networks in the city’s electricity supply, because it is technologically possible for electric car batteries to be used as a balancer in the energy system,” Ivaylo Mirchev also said.

The construction of charging points for electric vehicles in housing cooperatives and blocks of flats is now associated with many bureaucratic obstacles and takes a lot of time and resources, the reasons for the bill make clear. All the owners of the common garage must be contractors for the building permit application, and the technical investment project must be agreed with each of them. A lot of money and time is spent on preparing opinions from the electricity distribution company, from the RISV, for issuing permits for the construction of a switchboard and cable network, for preparing a sketch, etc.

With the changes, the charging stations will be on a separate electricity meter, with a separate lot for the user. The deputies from the committee will also propose improvement of the texts before the second reading of the bill. In the first reading, it was adopted with 12 votes “for”, 0 “against” and 3 “abstentions”.

At the moment, although the sales of electric cars in Bulgaria are growing seriously, the country remains at last place in the EU as a share of current cars from total transactions.