It's almost time! Electric car charging points must be installed in parking lots of non-residential buildings by the end of the year.
The deadline for legally required electric car charging points is approaching. The Act on Equipping Buildings with Electric Car Charging Points requires that at least one charging point must be installed in a parking area with at least 20 spaces adjacent to a non-residential building by the end of 2024.
The installation obligation covers, among others, municipal and parish buildings. The building owner is responsible for ensuring that the installation obligation is fulfilled and that charging devices are installed. The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom will begin monitoring at the beginning of 2025, so parties subject to the installation obligation should contact the companies manufacturing charging devices as soon as possible.
By law, the charging devices to be installed must be normal-power charging devices with Type 2 connectors or high-power charging devices with CCS connectors. There are many options on the market for different charging needs. A good solution is to choose charging devices that have both Type 2 and supersuko connectors. This also benefits car heaters.
The installation obligation does not apply to buildings in residential use or buildings that do not use energy to maintain the indoor climate (heating or cooling). The obligation also does not apply to buildings used by the defense administration or buildings owned and used by micro-enterprises. You can check whether your building is covered by the installation obligation on the Traficom website
You still have time to install a legal charging point
Currently, charging point installations are being ordered for the autumn, and companies' installation calendars are filling up quickly. It is therefore worth contacting charging point sellers and installers quickly. Before installing a charging point, a survey must be carried out on the site, which includes, for example, the condition of the current electrical infrastructure and a functional location for the charging points. After the survey, the owner of the residential property can choose a suitable charging device and order its installation.
At its fastest, the entire process can be completed in up to a month. However, the speed of the process depends a lot on where in Finland the building is located, what kind of installer network there is in the area, what the survey reveals, and how busy the installation companies' calendars are. It is therefore worth contacting the installation companies quickly and finding out what all is required to install the charging points.
Companies are happy to help you get started
“You don’t have to worry about the obligation to install charging points alone,” says Teppo Tieranta, . He therefore recommends contacting companies offering charging solutions and asking more about the installation obligation and the legal requirements. “At eParking, we have extensive partner networks all over Finland, and through us, the legally required installation obligation for charging points can be fulfilled very quickly if necessary. Many charging device manufacturers have also prepared by filling their charging device inventories,” says Tieranta. According to Tieranta, inquiries about the installation obligation are received weekly, and installers’ calendars are filling up quickly. It is therefore worth getting started on the matter as soon as possible so that the deadline does not expire.
"Now that you start asking about installing a charging point during the summer, you have time to fulfill the installation obligation by the end of the year. It is not worth starting to ask questions so close to the end of the year, because firstly, winter makes installation difficult and slows it down. Secondly, the deadline is already approaching then," Tieranta reminds.
Additional information:
Teppo Tieranta, charging solution salesperson, eParking.fi, teppo.tieranta@igl.fi , +358 50 470 2390
Release published on 7.5.2024
