Charging station regulation

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Basic data
Title: Ordinance on minimum technical requirements for the safe and interoperable construction and operation of publicly accessible charging points for electric vehicles
Short title: Charging station regulation
Abbreviation: LSV
Type: Federal Ordinance
Scope: Federal Republic of Germany             
Issued on the basis of: Section 49 (4) EnWG
Legal matter: Business law , energy law
References : 752-6-18
Issued on: March 9, 2016
( Federal Law Gazette I p. 457 )
Entry into force on: 17th March 2016
Last change by: Art. 1 of June 1, 2017
( Federal Law Gazette I p. 1520 )
Effective date of the
last change: 		June 14, 2017
(Art. 2 of June 1, 2017)
Weblink: Text of the regulation
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.

The Charging Column Ordinance ( LSV ) is an ordinance issued by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) , with the provisions of which the expansion of charging stations in Germany is to be accelerated and legal certainty created. According to its title, the ordinance regulates “minimum technical requirements for the safe and interoperable construction and operation of publicly accessible charging points for electric vehicles”. It came into force on March 17, 2016. On June 14, 2017, it was changed by the first ordinance amending the charging station ordinance .

Content and context

Type 2 charging connector
Combo 2 DC charging connector

target

With the regulation, the European requirements of Directive 2014/94 / EU with regard to requirements for charging connection systems at charging points for electric vehicles were implemented in German law. With the LSV, Germany also introduced more extensive specifications for the charging infrastructure. These expansions in the draft regulation were justified with the statement that private investments in the charging infrastructure fell short of expectations because the necessary investment security in the form of uniform connector standards was not provided and a binding specification of the technical standards for charging electric vehicles was required across all industries .

Content of the scheme

scope of application

Only publicly accessible charging points are regulated in the ordinance (Section 1 LSV). A charging point is defined as a facility at which only one electric vehicle can be charged at the same time (Section 2 No. 6 LSV). Charging stations at which several vehicles can charge at the same time therefore consist of several charging points, all of which must have at least the required plug connections. Wireless and inductively operated charging points are exempt from the obligation to equip them with the required plug-in devices.

Charging points are publicly accessible if the associated parking lot is either on the public street or on private property and can be used by an indefinite group of people (Section 2 No. 9 LSV). According to the justification of the LSV, charging points that are "located on private carports or private garage entrances" are generally not publicly accessible charging points within the meaning of this ordinance (p. 11, B. special section, re number 9). Charging points up to 3.7 kilowatts are exempt from the requirements of Sections 3 to 6 LSV in accordance with Section 7 LSV (so-called innovation freedom).

Minimum requirements for plugs and couplings

In addition to the definition of charging points, a central component of the regulation is the specification of standardized plug and coupling systems for new charging stations . According to § 3 LSV, type 2 and combo 2 plugs according to DIN EN 62196 Part 2 and Part 3 must be available: For charging points for AC charging, both those with a power of up to 22 kW (normal charging points, § 2 No. 7 LSV ) as with those with more than 22 kW power (fast charging points, § 2 No. 8 LSV) at least one type 2 socket or such a coupling must be available (§ 3 Paragraph 1 and 2 LSV). At charging points where direct current charging is possible, at least one Combo 2 coupling must be available (Section 3 (3) LSV).

Selective loading

Operators of charging points (Section 2 No. 12 LSV) must enable every user of electric vehicles to charge at a specific point without prior authentication ( Section 4 LSV). This can be done by supplying the energy free of charge or by paying

  • with cash in the immediate vicinity of the charging point or
  • using a common card-based payment system or payment method or
  • using a common web-based system.

This obligation only applies to charging stations that are set up from December 14, 2017 ( Section 8 LSV). They are intended to enable the unhindered use of electric vehicles across operators, municipalities and countries. This would be made more difficult or impossible by activations that differ depending on the operator of the charging point or individual municipalities, for example using different RFID cards.

Display of charging points, checking of fast charging points

In addition, the LSV statutes

  • the notification of commissioning, change of operator and decommissioning of charging points to the Federal Network Agency (§ 5 LSV) and
  • their competence in checking fast charging points for compliance with the technical requirements contained in § 3 Paragraph 2-4 LSV (§ 6 Paragraph 1 LSV) and
  • their competence to prohibit the operation of charging points in the event of non-compliance with the technical requirements contained in § 3 Paragraph 1-4 LSV (§ 6 Paragraph 2 LSV).

In the justification of the LSV (VI. Legislative Consequences / 1. Legal and Administrative Simplification) it says: “A report to the Federal Network Agency is necessary to ensure a complete recording of all publicly accessible charging points in the Federal Republic. Monitoring by the Federal Network Agency is necessary because, due to the great risk potential, a legal obligation on the part of the operator to set up and operate charging points safely and interoperably is not sufficient. "

Legal basis

The legal basis of the ordinance can be found in Section 49 (Requirements for Energy Systems) Paragraph 4 Clause 1 of the Energy Industry Act, according to which the BMWi is authorized, with the consent of the Federal Council, to adopt the regulations required to ensure technical safety and the interoperability of publicly accessible charging points for electric vehicles to meet.

On October 22, 2014, the EU regulation “ Directive 2014/94 / EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the development of the infrastructure for alternative fuels ” came into force. Implementation in national law is the responsibility of the member states. Directive 2014/94 / EU requires:

  • Every charging point with more than 3.7 kW alternating current charging power (AC) has to have a connection according to IEC 62196 type 2 .
  • Every charging point with more than 22 kW direct current charging power (DC) has to be connected to the Combined Charging System (CCS).

Criticism of the draft of the charging station regulation

Criticism from interest groups

Already at the beginning of 2015, shortly after the presentation of the draft of a "charging column regulation" by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy , various stakeholders and associations such as the Federal Association of Solar Mobility (BSM), the Federal Association of New Energy Providers (bne), the Federal Association of Energy and Energy Wasserwirtschaft (BDEW) and the Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU) in comments criticizing the draft bill. The main criticism was that the draft LSV was based on the implementation of EU Directive 2014/94 / EU of the European Parliament and the Council of October 22, 2014 (OJ L 307 of October 28, 2014, p. 2) calls, but the draft of the LSV was formulated differently in important points and is intended to regulate far more than the EU requirements.

In September 2015, was carried out notification of the German LSV draft to the EU, anmahnten whereupon the institutions change and need for clarification. “Several Member States (Great Britain, Finland, Sweden and Denmark) and the Commission have criticized the German expansion of the definition of when a charging station is publicly accessible. The misinterpretation will have a negative impact on private investments in technology and infrastructure, even though these enjoy special protection under the directive. "

Nevertheless, the draft was passed unchanged by the governing coalition on October 28, 2015. Roger Kohlmann, member of the BDEW management, said: “Instead of removing existing barriers and creating a uniform framework for electromobility across Europe, the planned charging station ordinance in its current version would even mean new hurdles for the development of the infrastructure in Germany. The draft shows numerous shortcomings and omissions: Various basic assumptions are incomprehensible, cross-sector recommendations of the National Platform for Electric Mobility are not taken into account and new bureaucratic and costly requirements characterize the draft. "Andreas-Michael Reinhardt, President of LEMnet-Europe eV as the central overview of Charging stations in Europe, said: “It is annoying that the BMWi with its specifications both violates the EU directive itself and wants to achieve maximum specifications where only minimum requirements according to the EU Commission are necessary. The hoped-for economic viability of old and new charging infrastructure is becoming more and more hopeless and investment security is being abolished by an economics minister of all people. "

Before the planned adoption by the Federal Council in November 2015, leading associations and associations for e-mobility, trade and industry in Germany criticized the LSV again. Above all, the definition of the “public charging point” is criticized, which, according to the LSV, covers all sockets / charging options even on private property and with restrictive access systems if they are not separated from the public traffic area by structural measures. The LSV thus expressly includes private and semi-public charging points at restaurants, hotels and businesses in the regulation, without there being any need to do so. The bureaucratic, technical and cost burden is also criticized and the sense of such extensive regulation is questioned. The neutral equal treatment of various technical solutions, as the EU directive calls for, is reformulated in favor of the Combined Charging System for fast chargers with an output of more than 22 kW . In a letter to the Economic and Transport Committee in the Federal Council, corrections were warned before adoption. The LSV was also received critically abroad as the German implementation of the EU directive. Onoph Caron from the charging infrastructure platform, which is operated uniformly across the country in the Netherlands, blames the stricter regulations for the charging infrastructure in Germany, which in some cases doubled in costs even before the LSV was passed: "I don't think we have anything like this in the Netherlands." The effects of the LSV on free, market-based competition are criticized.

At the request of the federal states of Berlin , Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , the adoption of the LSV by the Federal Council was postponed until February 2016. Robert Busch (Managing Director of the Federal Association of New Energy Suppliers bne) said: “With the postponement of the decision, there is now the necessary space to iron out the greatest errors in the regulation. To do this, everyone involved should be brought to the table in order to find a really viable solution that will advance electromobility. “An online petition against the charging point ordinance was launched on the Internet.

The charging station ordinance came into force on March 17, 2016 without any major changes.

Criticisms in detail

  • The ordinance bears the title “Charging Column Ordinance”, although the term “charging point” is used exclusively in the following.
  • A charging point is defined as a "charging device that is suitable and intended for charging electric vehicles (normal charging point up to 22 kW, fast charging point> 22 kW) and at which only one electric vehicle can be charged at the same time" ( Section 2 No. 6 LSV). This means that several connection options are defined as several charging points that each have to meet the requirements - not just the entire charging station or the charging station. This leads to disproportionate requirements if, for example, several parallel-connected, jointly fused IEC 60309 CEE connection sockets are kept in order to avoid adapters. According to the LSV, they each count as one charging point.
  • Deviating from the EU directive, in Section 2 No. 9 LSV a charging point is declared publicly accessible regardless of “authentication, use and payment” if the associated parking space is accessible by “indefinite groups of people or groups of people who can only be determined according to general characteristics”. This means that every external socket that is not blocked by barriers, fences or gates is a publicly accessible charging point - expressly also on private property. The carport and garage charging points listed as excluded in the justification would also be publicly accessible if they were published in a charging point directory and thus made accessible to the general public. The EU General Directorate considered the deviations as not conforming to EU directives and requested clarification.
  • Deviating from the EU directive, the stipulation that at charging points with direct current not only at fast charging points (> 22 kW), but generally Combo 2 according to the DIN EN 62196-3 (CCS2 standard) must be available as a connection. The decision to use the Combo-2 standard is made although its future viability for even higher charging capacities is already being questioned. Other plug and charging systems are discriminated against.
  • Pure CHAdeMO charging stations, Tesla Superchargers or multiple sockets designated as charging stations (e.g. Park & ​​Charge or three-phase network) in their current form are protected as they are, but only up to any technical changes that go beyond ensuring operability. They expressly do not comply with the directive. Not even if there are additional charging points that conform to the guidelines at the same location.
  • Establishment of notification obligations with deadlines, fees and test verification obligations to the Federal Network Agency , which prove the uncomplicated provision of free charging points, for example from retailers, hotels or restaurants with bureaucratic and financial requirements.
  • Incorrect reporting of the compliance costs of € 900,000 per year, which does not show any compliance costs for the citizen, but specifically also includes private and non-commercial charging points in the regulation.
  • Incorrect consideration (explanations, on § 4, on paragraph 3) of the number of fast charging points in Germany. Instead of the approx. 200 quick charging points assumed in the LSV, Tesla Motors alone operates over 400 Supercharger quick charging points in Germany. The justification of the expense for notification and monitoring obligations due to the small number is therefore no longer applicable.
  • In deviation from Article 4, § 4, first and second sentence of Directive 2014/94 / EU, which provides for a transition period until November 18, 2017, the LSV regulations should come into force 3 months after their adoption.
  • Creation of an additional bureaucratic instance that is unique in Europe, the costs of which are calculated at over € 1.2 million annually by 2020. The Association of Municipal Enterprises wrote in early 2015: “ The charging infrastructure is in the non-regulated area. There is no apparent need for regulation because there is no natural monopoly. "
  • Creation of additional costs for charging point operators through test certificates, although the construction and operation of electrical systems and liability in Germany are subject to strict regulations - especially when it is actually used publicly.
  • In contrast to the technical definition of the charging speed, which is either given in a time-related manner (e.g. in minutes) or the current intensity is given depending on the battery capacity (e.g. 1C corresponds to a charging time of 1 hour), the Charging Column Ordinance defines fast charging points as facilities , with which a charging power of more than 22 kW is provided ( § 2 No. 8 LSV). With a foreseeable larger battery capacity of well over 20 kWh, this means charging times of several hours, which does not correspond to the general idea of ​​"fast charging".

The Federal Association of Solar Mobility and various operators of non-commercial charging points summarize the criticism of the LSV as follows: "For private operators of publicly accessible charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, the LSV is the coffin nail for both the maintenance and the expansion of charging stations and boxes. Basically, the bureaucratic and recurring fee burdens imposed (...) are completely inadequate and only serve industrial interests, not those of the e-mobilists concerned. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Federal government standardizes charging stations . In: Handelsblatt . Handelsblatt publishing group , January 8, 2016, accessed on January 19, 2016 .
  2. ↑ a b BMWi: Resolution draft Charging Column Ordinance ( Memento of March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
  3. ↑ a b First regulation to amend the charging column regulation - text and changes
  4. ↑ Minutes of the Federal Council meeting on May 12, 2017
  5. ↑ a b Directive 2014/94 / EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 22, 2014 on the development of the infrastructure for alternative fuels (PDF)
  6. ↑ Federal Council printed paper No. 507/15. October 29, 2015, accessed June 27, 2019 . P. 1.
  7. ↑ Bundesratsdrucksache 256/17 First ordinance amending the Charging Column Ordinance of March 29, 2017. pdf, 486 kB
  8. ↑ BSM, January 14, 2015: BSM fears exclusion due to planned charging station ordinance , accessed December 7, 2015
  9. ↑ bne, January 21, 2015: Statement on the draft ordinance of January 9, 2015 ( Memento of December 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed December 11, 2015
  10. ↑ BDEW, February 16, 2015: Politics creates new hurdles for the development of the charging infrastructure ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 7, 2015 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bdew.de
  11. ↑ a b VKU, January 21, 2015: Statement by LSV  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 11, 2015@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.vku.de  
  12. ↑ Thomas Voland, Martin Gerig: Electric cars slowed down? politics & communication, October 29, 2015
  13. ↑ BMWi, October 28, 2015: BMWi charging column regulation in the cabinet , accessed December 8, 2015
  14. ↑ Energiezukunft, October 30, 2015: Industry criticizes the charging station regulation ( Memento of the original from December 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 11, 2015 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.energiezukunft.eu
  15. ↑ Andreas-Michael Reinhardt and Thomic Ruschmeyer: BSM on the Charging Column Ordinance : Political short circuit when charging electric vehicles? ( Memento of the original from December 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , eMobilServer (Heindl Service GmbH), accessed December 11, 2015 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.emobilserver.de
  16. ↑ BSM, Park & ​​Charge, LEMnet, October 20, 2015: Political short circuit when charging electric vehicles? , accessed December 7, 2015
  17. ↑ ecomento.tv, November 2, 2015: Planned charging station ordinance causes displeasure, accessed December 11, 2015
  18. ↑ BSM, u. a., December 2, 2015: Subject: Federal Council printed matter 507/15. Charging Column Ordinance (LSV) , accessed December 7, 2015
  19. ↑ OekoNews.at, November 21, 2015: Germany and its controversial loading point ordinance : Passing the practice! , accessed November 7, 2015
  20. ↑ Traffic letter , November 27, 2015: German charging stations too expensive? , accessed December 11, 2015
  21. ↑ portal21 / BDEW: BDEW goes tough with the draft of the charging column regulation , accessed December 11, 2015
  22. ↑ electrictrive.net: Charging Column Ordinance, Berlin, Clever, Regensburg, Norway. , accessed December 7, 2015
  23. ↑ ecomento.tv, December 8, 2015: Federal Council postpones controversial electric car charging station regulation , accessed December 11, 2015
  24. ↑ avaaz.org, October 2015: Bundesrat: Amendment to Bundesrat printed matter 507/15. BMWi Charging Column Ordinance (LSV). , accessed December 30, 2015
  25. ↑ e-auto.tv: Criticism of the draft charging column regulation ( Memento of December 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed December 3, 2015
  26. ↑ BSM, comments on the criticism of the LSV: Communication from the Commission - TRIS / (2015) 01766. Directive 98/34 / EC. Notification: 2015/0120 / D , accessed December 10, 2015
  27. ↑ BSM: Commentary on the LSV draft , accessed on February 2, 2015
  28. ↑ a b BMWi, October 28, 2015: Charging Column Ordinance - LSV, Section E: Compliance costs ; € 900,000 for industry (in Section E.2) and approx. € 300,000 for administration (in Section E.3), PDF, accessed December 8, 2015
  29. ↑ BSM, October 20, 2015: For explanation: Lex Tesla , accessed December 10, 2015
  30. ↑ BSM, Park & ​​Charge, LEMnet, October 20, 2015: Statement, Section: LSV is counterproductive , accessed December 10, 2015