Chungnam Expands Electric Vehicle 'Public Charging Station' Infrastructure... Demand Survey by City and County

Electric vehicle fast charging station installed in a public parking lot. Photo is unrelated to the article. Source=Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is expanding the infrastructure of public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in line with the increased supply of electric vehicles. In particular, future charging stations will be strategically distributed based on demand surveys.

The province announced on the 12th that it will conduct a demand survey by city and county for the Korea Electric Power Corporation's (KEPCO) public EV charging station supply support project until the 15th.

The demand survey aims to identify the current status to ensure that public EV charging stations are evenly distributed where there is actual demand, and to recommend candidate sites to KEPCO.

Subsequently, KEPCO will select project sites after on-site inspections and install chargers, canopies, and power supply facilities.

Separately, the province plans to supply 4,810 electric vehicles this year. It will provide purchase subsidies of 15 million KRW (8 million KRW from the national government, 3 million KRW from the provincial government, and 4 million KRW from city and county governments) to increase EV demand.

As of the end of November last year, 5,157 electric vehicles have been supplied (registered) in the region through this subsidy system. Additionally, there are 2,079 public EV chargers available for these vehicles, which corresponds to approximately one charger per 2.5 electric vehicles.

So far, as the province has steadily increased the number of public charging stations in line with EV supply, the installation rate of public chargers relative to electric vehicles has been relatively favorable.

However, previously installed public charging stations were mainly located at public facilities where securing land was easier, causing some inconvenience for EV owners living in old downtown apartments when charging their vehicles. This is why balanced placement of newly installed public charging stations is necessary.

Accordingly, the province plans to increase chargers mainly in multi-use facilities and old downtown apartment areas through demand surveys and consultations with related organizations such as KEPCO, ensuring that EV charging infrastructure is evenly distributed throughout the region.

A provincial official stated, “To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, the supply of electric vehicles will continue to expand, and public EV charging stations must also increase. The province will do its best to ensure that charging stations are evenly distributed so that residents do not experience inconvenience when charging their electric vehicles.”