In Tashkent, there is a mass shutdown of charging stations for electric vehicles. The official reason is violations in the connection process. However, entrepreneurs point to a more serious problem: rules for the installation and operation of such stations have still not been developed, despite a presidential directive issued three years ago. Kun.uz has prepared an analysis of the situation.
As part of the ongoing inspection, over a hundred charging stations have been shut down in Tashkent. Kun.uz gathered opinions from entrepreneurs and representatives of the authorities on this issue.
The overall picture looks as follows:
Many entrepreneurs who installed charging stations do not have direct contracts with local power grids. They connect to transformers of primary consumers who have contracts with energy supply organizations, and therefore are considered sub-subscribers.
Although such agreements are not considered illegal (as no agency has accused them of this), officials insist that such connections are not correct: unaccounted load can cause problems in the network. In response, the owners of charging stations claim that they comply with the power specified in the technical conditions provided to the primary consumer.
Interestingly, despite the presidential directive from 2022 regarding the need to establish a legal procedure for the installation of charging stations and connection to the power grid, no steps have been taken in this direction.
According to the Tashkent khokimiyat, as of March 5, there are approximately 1300 charging devices operating in the city with a power of over 20 kW. The purpose of the inventory is to "organize connections and reduce risks for the population."
“At the initiative of the khokimiyat, 12 working groups were created on March 3, which began the inventory. So far, more than 300 facilities have been checked, allowing for an assessment of the state of connections and the actual load on the network.
During the inventory process, some violations were identified: 101 facilities were temporarily disconnected due to the lack of necessary documents, and it was also found that 62 facilities do not have contracts with energy supply organizations,” the official statement reads.
It is specified that fast charging with a power of over 20 kW is a significant load on the power grids: one electric vehicle can consume dozens of kW of energy in a short period of time.
“If the connection is made without the necessary calculations and technical conditions, it increases the risk of overload and interruptions in the power supply to residential areas,” the khokimiyat's statement notes.
Business Ombudsman: Legal procedures must be followed
On March 6, the business ombudsman commented on the situation. He stated that studies are being conducted based on appeals from entrepreneurs. If any unlawful actions by authorized bodies are identified, measures will be taken against the responsible officials.
“According to current legislation, the suspension of entrepreneurs' activities or restrictions on the use of their property can only be carried out on the basis and in the manner prescribed by law, and in necessary cases – only by court decision.
Any inventories or measures for organization should not infringe on the rights of entrepreneurs and should be conducted with prior notification, providing sufficient time for coordination. Cases of unjustified disconnection or dismantling of entrepreneurs' property are considered violations of their rights,” the business ombudsman reports.
The post Charging stations for electric vehicles are being massively disconnected in Uzbekistan first appeared on K-News.
