Portugal to simplify charging laws

Lisbon: The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, introduced his draft bill with the intention to move forward with the simplification and “liberalization” of EV charging in Portugal at the Council of Ministers.

He said that the legal situation was set up due to “the remnants of the old monopoly law.” His intention is to make charging “as easy to charge an electric vehicle as to fuel up at a petrol pump.”

To this end, the Council of Ministers approved some changes, such as no longer requiring a petrol station to have a contract with an energy supplier for electric vehicles and making it possible for a driver to charge “at any station and pay with the normal electronic means of payment,” Amaro explained.

Additionally, an amendment for the emission of individual carbon bonds was also added to ensure that green electricity is used and that bidirectional charging is to be required so that electric cars can also stabilize the grid. He described the new law as “a true liberalization and simplification of the electric mobility regime.”

The Tesla Charging social media account has already commented on the changes, writing that “After 4.5 years, great progress in unblocking charging investment and driving EV adoption in Portugal.” Should the measure pass into law, Tesla writes that it will “quickly open more Superchargers in Portugal in time for summer travel.”

In the next step, a public consultation will follow, which presents the final hurdle for the legislation