Spain: Retailers given two years to fit their sites with EV chargers

The leading association of gas station operators has critized the measure saying it will mean the end of many businesses.

Gas station operators in Spain have warned the government that its new plans to force the installation of charging points could prompt the closure of “many sites” and the destruction of “thousands of jobs.”

Unveiled last week, the government’s draft for the new Climate Change Law stablishes that in just over two years most sites will need to have EV charging points with fines of up to €30 million awaiting those who do not comply, reports Publico.

Jorge de Benito, president of the Spanish Confederation of Service Station Retailers (CEEES in its Spanish acronym), said that the time frame was “absolutely hasty.” The project has separate phases for retailers.

The first phase will affect those sites that sell over 10 million litres of petrol and diesel per year. In a maximum period of 21 months from the passing of the law, the roughly 200 stations that fit into this category will need to have EV charging infrastructure of 22 or more kilowatts.

Those stations with yearly sales volume of 5 million to 10 million litres, considered the second category, will have five more months to electrify their sites.

After the end of the period of installation contemplated in the new law, retailers will have up to 12 months to ensure that the electricity delivered to electric vehicles is 100% renewable.

De Benito believes the draft of law currently sets unrealistic goals and “seems to be designed for newspaper headlines instead of chasing a real solution for the congestion and contamination problems that Spanish cities suffer.”