EV charging station accreditation assigned to bureau of Energy dep’t

THE Department of Energy (DoE) said on Monday that it placed one of its bureaus in charge of registering electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) and accrediting suppliers.

In an advisory dated June 23, the Energy department said EVCS provider accreditation and equipment registration applications will be taken by the Energy Utilization Management Bureau. 

The registration rules require that the EVCS be “interconnected with the same electrical branch circuit system, located in the same unit building/floor and bounded by the same building, (otherwise) separate applications will be required,” the DoE said.

It said multiple EVCS points will be considered one registration if on the same floor; within the same facility and connected to one electrical branch circuit.

However, the DoE said that only DoE-accredited “own-use charging stations” and “commercial-use charging stations” will be allowed to register.

The DoE said the accreditation of EVCS suppliers will help accelerate the adoption of EVs.

The DoE has set an EV rollout target of 10% of all vehicle fleets, double the 5% required by Republic Act No. 11697, or the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act.

It said that for 2023-2028, the EV fleet target is 2.45 million cars, tricycles, motorcycles, and buses, and 65,000 EV charging stations.

For the 2029-2034 period, the DoE said it will target an additional 1.85 million EVs and 42,000 charging stations.

At the end of 2021, the DoE had registered about 9,000 EVs, of which 378 were public utility vehicles, as well as 327 charging stations. — Ashley Erika O. Jose