Drive, electric cars | New EU law changes electric car charging in Norway

(broomThis has also been criticized from several quarters, among those who were most enthusiastic about it were the NAF and the Electric Vehicle Association.

Now they are getting good help from the European Union. In October, they adopted a simpler push for fast charging for electric vehicles. The arrangement means that you can use your favorite app to pay at all charging stations, rather than having 10-15 apps installed on your phone.

Norway must take the lead

The EU decision will require charging operators to allow “electronic roaming,” which in practice means you can use your favorite charging app to pay for charging at all electric vehicle fast charging points.

This is a major achievement for more consumer-friendly charging. Today, every express charging operator has its own application, which makes charging unnecessarily complicated and causes many people to suffer from paying at the charging station. The EU says this should be introduced from 2027 at the latest, and Norway will follow the EU. Now that charging operators know what’s coming, there’s no reason for them to wait to unlock electronic roaming. Norway should now take the lead in opening up express shipping and introducing this early next year, says Thor Egil Braadland, a communications officer at NAF.

Facts about online roaming:

Online roaming means you can choose which app to use to start and stop and pay for charging at all fast charging stations across Europe.

This is due to be adopted by the EU Transport Committee on 3 October, and by the EU Parliament on 19 October.

The text to be considered in the countries of the European Union, among other things: “The operators of recharge points (…) must ensure that electronic roaming is available, at each publicly accessible recharge point.” The European Union says the requirements will officially apply from 2027.

Roaming is an important step on the “plug and charge” road, as the electric driver connects the charging cable to the vehicle, and the vehicle then arranges payment automatically without the need for driver intervention.

Card payment

NAF has committed to ensuring that electronic roaming is included in the EU Alternative Fuels Directive. When the Norwegian government will present its fee-charging strategy later this year, the NAF believes the government should step up and demand simpler payments quickly.

Norway is a leading electric vehicle country in Europe, and we are one of the most technologically advanced countries, says Braadland.

The European Union is also likely to decide that bank cards will also become a mandatory payment method at all fast charging stations.

– Many people are accustomed to paying by bank card, so it is positive and understandable that this requirement comes at all new stations. However, Norway has 4,000 charging points with which card readers must be modified. This may take time, and may delay the work of setting up new charge points. Therefore, we will focus more on opening up electronic roaming, so that fast charging becomes easier for the consumer, says Braadland, in a press release.