New energy vehicles drive into thousands of households, but the charging pile is blocked outside the community——

How to solve the problem when the personal charging pile is stuck in the “last kilometer”?

Our reporter Chen Hua Tang Shu

Reading tips

Since last year, the domestic consumption of new energy vehicles has continued to rise, and the sales of private passenger vehicles have exploded. However, some car owners found that the installation of personal charging piles faced many obstacles after buying a car. With the rapid growth of the number of new energy private cars, the problem of difficult charging of family cars has become increasingly prominent.

Since last year, the domestic consumption of new energy vehicles has continued to rise, and the new energy vehicle industry has entered a new stage of large-scale and rapid development. Data show that in the first quarter of this year, the number of newly registered new energy vehicles in China increased by 138.2% compared with the same period last year, showing a rapid growth trend, of which private passenger vehicles accounted for a large proportion.

However, with the rapid growth of the number of new energy private cars, the problem of difficult charging of family cars has become increasingly prominent. The reporter found that compared with the construction of public charging piles, the “last kilometer” of household charging piles is still full of obstacles. It is not easy for new energy owners to realize “charging freedom” and use cheap and convenient household charging piles in their own community.

Private cars are easy to buy and “private piles” are difficult to install

“I can’t buy my own parking space until I can’t buy it.” Ms. Zhang, who lives near the South First Ring Road in Hefei, Anhui Province, just started a new energy vehicle last month. The manufacturer attached a household charging pile and provided free installation services. Unexpectedly, she was stuck at the “door of her home”.

“The power supply department needs the property to provide the construction permit, but the property says it needs the consent of the power supply department to seal.” The two departments are the premise of each other. Ms. Zhang is repeatedly “kicked around” like a ball. Finally, she can only choose to charge at a nearby charging station. She needs to wait in line during peak hours, and she has to pay extra for more than 3 hours of free parking time. “It’s not only inconvenient to charge, but also staring at the time. The cost is half as expensive as that of household piles.” Ms. Zhang said.

Charging at the charging station not only costs more, but also costs more time. Ms. Wu, who lives in Tongling, Anhui Province, was also forced to go to a public charging station because of the failure to install a private charging pile. The nearest charging station to Ms. Wu’s house is 6 kilometers away and in a high-speed service area.

“After tossing for more than a year, the charging pile is still not installed.” Ms. Wu said that the reason given by the property is that the power is insufficient and the civil air defense project is limited and cannot be installed. She has consulted the power supply, fire and other departments and said that there was no problem, but the property still did not agree to seal the installation application form.

There are many obstacles for charging piles to enter the community

“Among the more than 40000 vehicles delivered in 2021, nearly 20000 charging piles delivered with the vehicle cannot be sent out.” The CEO of a new energy vehicle manufacturer said recently that among its brand consumption groups, nearly half of consumers drove away without taking away the charging pile.

According to the survey released by Tianjin Consumer Association in January, only 29% of new energy owners use private charging piles in Tianjin. Among the reasons why it is impossible to install private charging piles, “no private parking space” and “community property is not allowed” account for a high proportion, 51.2% and 29% respectively.

In a wechat group called “charging pile installation difficult communication group”, the reporter saw various situations in which personal charging piles were blocked outside the community: insufficient fixed parking spaces, limited power grid capacity and potential safety hazards… In addition, some community properties told that charging piles with “residential power charging standard” could not be installed, while others required that they must be approved by other owners. Other car owners said that only the parking spaces installed with charging piles by developers can charge new energy vehicles, which is more than 10000 yuan more expensive than ordinary parking spaces.

For the problem of charging piles entering the community, the notice on accelerating the construction of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in residential areas issued by the national development and Reform Commission and other four departments in 2016 has made it clear that the owners’ Committee (or the management unit authorized by the owners’ assembly) should agree and provide necessary assistance for the behavior or requirements of the owner occupying the fixed parking space or the long-term lessee (with a lease term of one year or more) to build the charging infrastructure. During the installation process, the property service enterprise shall timely provide relevant drawings and materials, actively cooperate and assist in on-site investigation and construction.

But in reality, there are still many concerns about community property. The reporter called the community property where Ms. Wu is located. The staff said that the community was completed in 2014, and the charging pile installation space and facilities have not been reserved during the planning and construction. At the same time, the community has no fixed parking space, and the installation of private charging piles will also bring the problem of unclear rights and responsibilities, which is easy to cause disputes among owners.

How to get through the “last kilometer” of charging?

Insiders said that the installation of charging piles in the community involves charging operators, owners, industry committees, developers and properties, which is more complex. Especially in old communities, it is more difficult to promote.

For the property, the installation of private charging piles is laborious and thankless, which not only increases the management cost, but also has the responsibility to avoid corresponding accidents. Therefore, its enthusiasm is not high.

In order to further open up the “last kilometer” of the charging pile into the community, all localities are making efforts to solve the problems. In November last year, Hunan issued new regulations, proposing that the charging infrastructure of electric vehicles “focus on self (special) use, supplemented by public use”, and encouraging private car owners to build their own charging piles. If individuals own garages and parking spaces to install charging facilities, they do not need to apply for construction land planning permits and other relevant certificates. The property service enterprises shall support and cooperate in installing charging piles on fixed parking spaces with a lease term of more than one year in residential communities. If it fails to cooperate, the housing and urban rural construction departments at all levels shall deal with it.

Some places are also exploring solutions to the problem of objective conditions in old residential areas. In Anhui, automobile charging facilities have been included in the transformation scope of improved old residential areas, and some residential areas will pilot the unified construction and operation of charging facilities. The urban management and development plan for the 14th Five Year Plan period recently released by Beijing also proposes to study and formulate opinions on the construction and management of electric vehicle charging facilities in residential areas, support and encourage the electrification of charging facilities into the reconstruction project of old residential areas, and promote the “installation of electric vehicle charging facilities in residential areas”.

“At this stage, the development of new energy vehicles is transforming from policy driven to market driven. In this process, effectively solving the charging problem is very important to promote industrial development.” thinking