PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON PROPOSED LEGISLATION TO REGULATE ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING

Summary of Responses to Public Consultation on Proposed Legislation to Regulate Electric Vehicle Charging

In June 2022, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) sought public feedback on the proposed legislation to regulate electric vehicle (EV) charging in Singapore. The proposed legislation seeks to establish new regulatory frameworks and provide LTA with the relevant enforcement powers, with a view to ensuring that Singapore’s EV charging infrastructure is safe, reliable, and accessible for all EV users. 

2 The public consultation exercise was held from 15 June 2022 to 14 July 2022. As part of the exercise, MOT and LTA also organised industry consultation sessions. 

3 At the close of the public consultation, MOT and LTA received over 70 responses from a wide range of stakeholders, including members of the public, companies, industry and business associations. The feedback received was generally supportive of the proposed legislative measures. The main areas of feedback pertain to mandatory EV charging provision for developments; the licensing regime for EV charging operators (EVCOs); the registration regime for EV chargers; charging provisions for electric motorcycles; and measures to optimise the use of EV charging points. Details on the key pieces of feedback received and the corresponding written responses from MOT and LTA can be found in the Annex below.

4 MOT and LTA would like to thank all members of the public and industry for their active participation in the public consultation exercise. Their feedback was critical in strengthening the proposed legislation, which is expected to be tabled in Parliament by the end of this year.

Ministry of Transport and the Land Transport Authority
2 Sep 2022

ANNEX Key Areas of Feedback and Responses by MOT/LTA

1) Mandatory EV charging provision for developments

Respondents were supportive of the proposed mandatory charging provision for developments. Several went further to express support for a more ambitious mandate. Suggestions included expanding the scope of the mandate to cover existing developments, in addition to new developments as originally proposed; and increasing the minimum requirements for both active provision (number of chargers) and passive provision (electrical capacity), possibly with different thresholds for different types of developments. 

MOT/LTA will review the mandatory provision requirements, taking into account the public feedback as well as the strong uptake of EV sales in recent months. 

2) Licensing regime for EV charging operators (EVCOs)

Some industry respondents raised questions about whether the proposed licensing regime would be onerous and costly for EVCOs. While some acknowledged that a licensing regime was necessary, others pointed out that if compliance costs were too high, it may pose barriers to entry for smaller market players, and the costs may subsequently be passed on to consumers. 

While an effective licensing regime is essential to ensuring the reliability and accessibility of EV charging services throughout Singapore, MOT/LTA acknowledges the need to keep compliance costs reasonable even as we design an effective licensing regime. MOT/LTA will continue to work with the industry to address their comments on the licensing requirements. 

Some industry respondents also cautioned that the data sharing requirements of the licensing regime should avoid undue disclosure of commercially sensitive data. 

MOT/LTA recognises and understands the concern. The primary objective of the data collection requirements is to facilitate the planning of the national EV charger network and its supporting electrical infrastructure. While some data may be publicly disclosed to support the accessibility of chargers to EV users (e.g. through mobile applications that map chargers), MOT/LTA will ensure that the data disclosures are not commercially sensitive and consistent with global best practice. 

3) Registration regime for chargers

A minority of respondents proposed to exempt private chargers owned and used exclusively within households from the proposed charger registration regime as they felt that these private chargers would not be useful for LTA’s planning. 

MOT/LTA are of the view that a comprehensive EV charger registry is critical in ensuing that owners are accountable for the safe installation, use, and maintenance of EV chargers. It is also important for LTA, as the EV charger regulator, to have full visibility of EV chargers across the island, to in turn plan for the efficient and orderly growth of the national EV charging network. In addition, the registration requirement ought to be fairly applied. To support public compliance with the proposed requirements, MOT/LTA will provide sufficient time and information to all existing charger owners. 

4) Charging provisions for electric motorcycles

Some respondents requested clarity on charging provisions for electric motorcycles, in order to facilitate public adoption. There were also calls to review the proposed ban on home charging of detachable batteries, as it would constrain charging options for electric motorcycles. 

Electric motorcycles are an important part of the national vehicle electrification effort. In recognition of the more diverse and evolving charging landscape for electric motorcycles compared to cars, MOT/LTA is adopting a multi-pronged approach towards electric motorcycle charging solutions. For a start, we have catered charging provision for electric motorcycles, where 1 out of 3 charging points serve both a car and a motorcycle wherever possible, in the large-scale EV charging tender for HDB carparks (TD116) published on 8 April 2022. At the same time, we will be embarking on various sandboxes for newer electric motorcycle charging solutions, to test their feasibility in Singapore’s context and ensure that they are safe for public use. MOT/LTA will continue to work closely with industry providers on these efforts. 

For now, as detachable battery charging for electric motorcycles is a relatively nascent charging solution that has yet to see widespread global adoption, MOT/LTA has proposed disallowing the charging of such detachable batteries at home in the first instance, out of consideration for public safety. We will continue to closely monitor global developments in this area. 

5) Measures to tackle the hogging of EV charging lots

Many respondents commented on the potential challenge that lot hogging behaviour could pose towards EV adoption, since many charging lots are expected to be shared among EV users. Various solutions were suggested, such as the imposition of heavier penalties on offenders, and the use of technological solutions. 

Under the Parking Places Act and Regulations, it is presently an offence for ICE vehicles to park at EV charging lots in HDB and URA-managed parking lots. Private developments have also begun to ban and penalise the hogging of EV charging lots under their respective parking bylaws. MOT/LTA and the relevant agencies will continue to work with industry players and premise owners to develop a well-rounded approach to tackle lot hogging, comprising: i) regulation; ii) innovation; and iii) a gracious charging culture.