New political agree­ment concer­ning regu­lation of the charging point market

On 28 October 2021, the Government and a political majority entered into a broad political agreement, which will enable the municipalities to call for bids and grant aid in areas where the market cannot perform the task itself. The agreement also introduces a number of changes in relation to the bill on infrastructure for alternative propellants. For more information on the bill which is proposed to be amended by the political agreement: Lovforslag skal give bedre rammer for opladning af elbiler (article in Danish).

Co-financing - municipal aid to the establishment of charging points

The municipalities and regions will be authorised to co-finance charging points in their own areas if the market cannot perform the task.

Co-financing may take place only if:

• It takes place within the municipality’s or the region’s own plan budget:
• The co-financing agreement is concluded for a limited period; and
• There is no commercial basis for the establishment of charging points.

It is therefore not possible to set aside municipal or regional co-financing for a specific tender. For now, the possibility of co-financing will be in force until 2024, and the scheme will be evaluated in the spring of 2024.

Price adjustments and transparency

The political agreement is to help clarify the framework of payment. Contractual terms are to be prepared between the authorities and the operators of the charging points so that the users are to pay fair and non-discriminating prices at charging points installed in public areas.

General payment cards may be used at charging points with an effect of 50 kW or more. This requirement applies to publicly accessible charging points installed in public areas and publicly accessible charging points established based on public aid (including aid from the EU). It is not a requirement to install card readers at charging points with an effect of less than 50 kW if there is instead access to roaming - either bilaterally or via a third party.

The rules will cover charging points established after the coming into force of the bill. However, charging points established based on a permission from a municipality under section 80 of the Act governing public road construction before the act comes into force will not be covered by the rules of payment solutions until after 1 January 2026. From 1 January 2026, existing charging points will be covered by the requirements for payment solutions.

Standard terms in the agreements of the municipalities, regions and the state

The minister for transport will be authorised to lay down rules on fair and non-discriminating prices for the users by way of standard terms. These terms must be applied by the authorities when concluding agreements on the granting of the right to operate publicly accessible charging points in public areas.

Until the beginning of 2022, the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority is expected to uncover how the provisions on fair and non-discriminating prices are to be worded in an executive order on standard terms in public agreements with charging point operators.

Limitation of the contractual term with operators

The political agreement also contains an adjustment of the original bill, which implies a limitation of maximum 10 years in relation to the authorities’ agreements on the right to operate charging points in public areas. The agreement may, however, cover a contractual term of up to 15 years if justified by the consideration for extraordinary investments in infrastructure, including in outlying areas with low market drive. These two limitations in time were fixed at eight and 12 years in the draft consultation bill.

In addition, the provision stating that municipalities and regions must give notice two years in advance of their plans to establish charging points will be deleted. However, it appears from the political agreement that the comments in the bill must describe that the plans concerning establishment of charging points must be made public.