BDEW criticizes charging station requirement for gas stations: Charging is not refueling

The decision of the federal cabinet to amend the Building Energy Infrastructure Act (GEIG) with an obligation for gas station operators to install fast charging stations has met with criticism from the energy sector. Kerstin Andreae, chairwoman of the BDEW Executive Board, considers such an obligation unnecessary.

"When transitioning to electromobility, sometimes we need to break away from existing paradigms: charging is not refueling, the charging market is quite different from the gas station business with fuels. Charging electric vehicles takes place wherever the vehicles stand for longer periods, e.g., in supermarket parking lots, at hotels, at the employer's premises, or at home," Andreae outlines.

BDEW: Focus on affordable electric cars

According to BDEW, there is also charging along highways or at fast-charging hubs. The applications are thus significantly more diverse than refueling. Moreover, market-driven charging infrastructure is already being built according to demand, and gas station operators are already installing charging stations on their own initiative. The managing director considers an obligation neither "targeted nor appropriate." Additionally, Germany already has twice as much charging capacity as the European minimum targets require, and it continues to expand despite the currently low occupancy rates.

"Given this positive market development, the necessary justification for such a stringent regulatory measure is lacking. Instead of further developing regulations for the functioning charging market, the federal government must finally focus on the vehicle side. We urgently need more affordable electric car models to achieve the 15 million electric car target."

According to the draft law, companies with at least 200 gas stations will generally be required to operate at least one publicly accessible fast charging point with a minimum output of 150 kilowatts at each gas station starting January 1, 2028. This obligation is expected to affect about a dozen companies, as stated in a paper by the Ministry of Transport. Existing facilities will be taken into account. The draft law justifies the supply requirement by stating that the expansion of fast charging infrastructure at gas stations has already begun. "However, this has not yet been uniform and varies regionally." The supply requirement is expected to result in an additional approximately 8,000 new fast charging points, according to the draft. As of April, there were nearly 22,000 fast charging points out of approximately 115,000 publicly accessible charging points, according to the ministry's data.

Flexibility in Practice

The federal government is planning with a so-called flexibility mechanism. Accordingly, a company may implement the requirements differently for up to 50 percent of its gas stations. For example, a fast-charging point could be set up at a location within a 1,000-meter radius or an additional charging station could be installed at another gas station. Furthermore, a hardship clause is planned if economically unreasonable burdens should arise.

"We reject the planned supply obligation. This reminds us of a planned economy and does not work," criticized Aral's CEO, Achim Bothe, in an interview with ARD.