The Department of Energy (DOE) has admitted that the registration for the rollout of electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) remains very slow, although there are expectations that this may pick up speed in the months ahead.

Director Patrick T. Aquino of the DOE’s Energy Utilization Management Bureau (EUMB) forthrightly stated that “we’ve seen that in terms of (EVCS) registration, it’s quite slow,” as he emphasized that there are only five EVCS establishments that had completed their enlistment processes at this point.

Based on data culled from the department, those that are already in the official roll of EVCS providers have been Solarius EV Charging and Sysnet Integrators Inc. for their EV charging facilities set up in the cities of Makati and Mandaluyong; as well as an installation at the Subic freeport zone in Zambales.

Aquino, nevertheless, noted that there more than two dozens currently being processed by the DOE for registration, with many of them still completing documentary requirements being required by the agency.

“There’s a lot in process…there are more than two dozens of EV charging station providers that are in the various stages of registration in the system. The backlog is not on DOE’s part, it is on the EVCS providers – it’s on completing all the documents,” he qualified.

When the applicants would already complete their registration, he emphasized that the available charging points that can be utilized commercially by EV users may already go beyond 100, as culled from the rollout plan of the applicants.

On the unbundling of fees or charges to be enforced for the commercial EV charging facilities, Aquio conveyed that there will be transitory period of six months which kicked off in June this year and will wind up in December.

“There’s a transitory period from the issuance that we made which would take effect this year. We’ll probably start the enforcement by January next year,” the energy official said.

As stipulated in a Circular previously issued by the DOE, the fees for these EV charging facilities shall be set per city or per municipality; and the calculation methodologies may cover fixed and variable fees; as well as time-based fees.

The comprehensive electric mobility (e-mobility) investment paradigm cast by the DOE targets the rollout of 6.3 million electric vehicles until year 2040 – to account for 50-percent of the country’s overall road transport system within that timeframe.

There are three-tiered EV development plan set forth by the agency; and the short term covers the Marcos administration’s reign from 2023 to 2028 which aims for 2,454,200 EV rollout nationwide - comprising of cars, tricycles, motorcycles, and buses.

To underpin that scale of EV patronage, the energy department is eyeing at least 65,000 EV charging facilities to be installed in various parts of the country.

The next phase of EV adoption stretches from 2029 – 2034 and that will call for additional
1,851,500 EVs on Philippine roads; to be supported with additional 42,000 charging stations.

Then the long-term investment plan will be from 2034 – 2040; and that will cover 2,001,600 EVs more that will be traversing the country’s thoroughfares; and that shall likewise be propped with additional 40,000 EV charging facilities.