With the rapid spread of electric vehicles, the establishment of the legal infrastructure for charging services has also gained momentum in Turkey. On 21.12.2021, the Electricity Market Law (“Elektrik Piyasası Kanunu” in Turkish and referred as “EML” herein.) was amended and the Charging Service Regulation (“Şarj Hizmeti Yönetmeliği” in Turkish and referred as “Regulation” herein.) published in the Official Gazette dated 02.04.2022 and numbered 31797, charging services entered our legislation as a new market activity. According to this change, those who want to provide charging service must obtain a charging network operating license.
With the amendment made in the EML, “interoperability”, “electric vehicle”, “loyalty agreement”, “certificate”, “charging network”, “charging network operator”, “charging service”, “charging station”, “charging station operator” ” and “free access platform” definitions that were not previously available in the Law have been added. In short, “interoperability” refers to the obligation of electric vehicle charging stations to be compatible with the already installed interconnected electrical system and related documents.
In addition, EMRA; with regard to charging network operators; It has been empowered to set special conditions, including restrictions on activities within the scope of the license, numerical limitations regarding the issuance of the license and the execution of the license activity, commercial and technical obligations, including the obligation to establish a station, taking into account the prevalence of charging stations. In cases where it is obligatory to establish a charging station, expropriation will be possible as well as electricity generation for the supply of real estate.
Charging Service Regulation determines the procedures and principles regarding the establishment of charging units and stations where electrical energy is supplied to electric vehicles, the operation of the charging network and charging stations connected to the charging network, and the provision of charging services.
This Regulation covers the procedures and principles regarding the establishment and operation of charging units and charging stations, the establishment of a charging network, the licensing of charging network operators and the regulation of their activities, the rights and obligations of charging network operators and charging station operators and users, and the establishment and operation of a free access platform.
Regulation defines electric vehicles as motor road vehicles that use an electric motor alone or as a support for their movement and can be charged externally with electric energy. Therefore, purely electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles are within the scope of the regulation.
The charging services provider operates the charging network in accordance with the regulations in the Regulation and provides access to the charging network for electric vehicles. Charging networks consist of multiple, public or commercial, private, multiple charging stations operated based on certificates issued by the charging network operator.
According to Article 4 of the Regulation, charging networks can be operated under the license to be obtained from the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (Enerji Piyasası Düzenleme Kurumu in Turkish and referred to as “EMRA” herein). According to the regulation:
Although the application documents are available on EMRA's website, EMRA may request additional information or documents.
The license fee for the charging network operator license, which will be applied in 2022, has been determined as 300 thousand Turkish Liras, the license amendment fee of 14 thousand Turkish Liras and the cost of issuing a copy of the license as 3 thousand Turkish Liras.
Charging network operator license applications will only be received through the EMRA electronic application system, and license applications made by hand or by mail will not be considered.
The original or a notarized copy of the authorization documents of the person authorized to apply by the legal persons who will apply for the license must be submitted to EMRA by hand or by mail, as an attachment to a letter prepared in the electronic environment in accordance with the petition format on the website (Please see Bibliography*).
By examining their authorization documents, the necessary definitions of those authorized by the relevant legal entities will be made by EMRA in order to make applications within the scope of charging network operator license. The electronic application authority will be defined as the addressee of the EMRA Application System. Access to the EMRA Application System will be provided with an e-government password, electronic signature or mobile signature.
The licenses to be granted by EMRA can be granted for a maximum of 49 years, and upon the request of the licensee, the license period can be extended within the scope of the evaluation to be made by EMRA.
Within the scope of the regulation, charging network operators and charging station operators are defined as separate terms. It is obligatory for charging station operators to obtain a certificate from the charging network operator to which the charging stations are connected. The minimum content of this certificate is determined in Article 20 of the Regulation. Charging network operators are obliged to publish the procedures and principles to be applied in the issuance, termination and cancellation of certificates. In these aforementioned procedures and principles, provisions contrary to the legislation or disrupting the functioning of the market cannot be included.
A charging station can only be certified by a charging network operator. Charging stations are subject to the supervision and control of the charging network operator that issued the certificate. The regulation clearly states that the primary responsibility for the provision of the charging service belongs to the charging network operator and that issuing a certificate to the charging station operator does not eliminate the responsibility of the charging network operator. In this context, it should be noted that charging station operators are not obliged to obtain a license from EMRA.
The regulation does not contain a regulation on whether or not the charging network operating license holders can operate the charging stations in their own charging network. There is no legal obstacle for charging network license holders to operate the charging stations themselves, as there is no contrary regulation in the regulation or in the provisional article 5 of the EML.
Within six months from the issuance of the license, the licensee establishes a charging network consisting of at least fifty charging units and charging stations in at least five different districts. In addition, the provision of Article 15 of the Regulation provides detailed technical rules for the charging stations to be connected to the charging network.
At least five percent of the charging units in the charging network and at least fifty percent of the charging units located on highways and state roads under the responsibility of the General Directorate of Highways must be DC 50 kW and above charging units.
Charging network business license holders could;
This license cannot be transferred under any circumstances.
Additional article 5 of the EML regulates the general obligations of license holders. More detailed procedures and principles on the subject are also included in the Regulation.
The Regulation authorizes EMRA to envisage various obligations for charging network operators, including the establishment of charging stations in EMRA designated regions. Since the establishment of charging stations in the regions determined by EMRA may be burdensome, it is regulated in the Regulation that the costs incurred can be taken into account in the calculation of the charging service fee. The Regulation also envisages various obligations for charging network operators. The most critical of these obligations, including but not limited to, are as follows:
In addition, in order for charging stations to provide service, they must have a business and working license in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on Business and Working Licenses.
The regulation regulates that charging service prices can be determined freely, without prejudice to the provisions of the EML. The regulation contains some rules that must be taken into account when determining the charges to be applied for the charging service. According to Article 25/3 of the Regulation, the charging service fee should consist of the following components:
Service fees are determined over the unit energy (TL/kWh) provided to electric vehicles. It is possible to determine different service charges for different types of charging units.
Upon EMRA's request, business license holders are obliged to inform EMRA about the calculation method they apply while creating and updating the service fee.
Service fees are determined over the unit energy (TL/kWh) provided to electric vehicles. It is possible to determine different service charges for different types of charging units.
Upon EMRA's request, business license holders are obliged to inform EMRA about the calculation method they apply while creating and updating the service fee
The regulation also includes an additional limitation on charging service fees in the event that loyalty agreements are signed. In accordance with Article 25/7 of the Regulation, the charging service fees cannot be more than 25% of the lowest price applied by the charging network operator license to the users with whom a loyalty agreement is signed. Finally, in accordance with Article 26 of the Regulation, EMRA has the authority to set minimum and maximum prices.
Loyalty Agreement is an agreement that the electric vehicle user makes with the charging network operator license holder in order to obtain the charging service within certain advantages.
In order to meet the electricity needs of charging stations, electricity generation facilities based on renewable energy sources can be established within the scope of the Unlicensed Electricity Generation Regulation in the Electricity Market.
The regulation foresees the establishment of an online platform by EMRA and on this platform, up-to-date information on charging stations, including service fees. In the provisions of the regulation, this platform is called “free access platform”. Free access platform is defined as a platform created for real-time viewing of all existing charging stations, providing live data of charging stations and providing data exchange and other operations with standard protocols and interface.
Charging network operators are obliged to notify EMRA of the service fees they will apply on a daily basis. EMRA publishes these fees notified to it on the free access platform.
As an implementation of the policy of increasing the prevalence of charging network stations throughout the country, the Ministry of Industry and Technology has determined some incentives to be given in the form of grants for electric vehicle charging stations.
The deadline for applying for these incentives has been determined as 15.06.2022. The conditions for applying for incentives are published on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Technology (Please see Bibliography**).
Conclusion
Availability of sufficient number of electric vehicle charging stations in residential areas is one of the most important conditions for the widespread use of electric vehicles. Although there is not enough infrastructure as of the current situation, there has been a visible increase in the number of electric vehicles. In the face of this situation, the legislator and EMRA did not remain indifferent and the Regulation was put into effect after the necessary amendments were made in the EML in order to draw the legal framework of charging services. With the legal framework brought by the new Regulation and the incentives provided by the Ministry of Industry and Technology, the number of charging stations is expected to increase in a short time.
Relevant Legislation
The Electricity Market Law and the Charging Service Regulation are executed by the President of the EMR Authority. For detailed legislation information please see. Bibliography.
Bibliography
19.08.2022
Att. Cansu Yılmaz | Corporate Lawyer
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