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Monday, August 4, 2014

Ministry of Energy Promotes Electric Cars

The Greek government with a new legislative amendment aims to promote the use of electric cars in Greece.  The amendment will regulate the operation of recharging facilities. The Environment and Energy Minister Yiannis Maniatis believes that the use of electric cars will benefit the Greek economy. The first phase of the program, which will be supervised by a special committee set up at the ministry’s General Secretariat for Energy, foresees an integrated “Network of Electric Mobility” operating in pilot form. Besides coordinating all the various parties involved, the committee will also be responsible for the public information campaign. Electric mobility in Greece is not as developed as in the rest of the EU countries, with just 25 exclusively electric cars currently in circulation. According to the experts, electric vehicles can cover 100 kilometers in the city on just 90 cents, compared to even the most economical gas-powered cars, which would require 3 to 3.50 euros to cover the same distance. Electric car use in Greece remains low because of the absence of succinct legislation and the luxury tax on electric vehicles that has significantly increased their cost. Meanwhile, the clause concerning the installation of electric vehicle charging stations was introduced to legislation just this January. According to the recent amendment, charging stations will not need a special license for supplying electrical energy. Instead, they will be categorized as final consumers with the right to resell power as a service. According to EU directives, Greece should have 13,000 electric vehicle charging stations by the end of 2020.  


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com