Gyeonggi Province will conduct a joint inspection of electric vehicle charging facilities targeting more than 300 apartment complexes in the province by the end of August.
The inspection targets will be selected from over 300 apartment complexes with more than 100 households, focusing on those with charging facilities concentrated in underground areas. The inspection will be jointly carried out by the Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters and 31 cities and counties, covering both fire safety and electrical aspects.
The fire safety inspection will include fire extinguishing equipment, alarm systems, and evacuation facilities. The electrical inspection will cover the maintenance status of charging cables, dustproof and waterproof protection ratings, and whether the charging system operates normally, among other maintenance and management conditions of the charging facilities.
Gyeonggi Province will immediately provide guidance and corrective measures on-site for any deficiencies or improvements found during the inspection. Additionally, if further inspections are needed after the joint inspection in August, safety inspections will be gradually expanded.
Furthermore, Gyeonggi Province is reviewing the enactment of ordinances related to fire safety management standards for charging facilities and plans to propose policy and regulatory amendments to relevant departments for any additional institutional or legislative needs.
Since 2017, Gyeonggi Province has supported the installation costs of slow and fast electric vehicle charging facilities in public facilities within the province, and since 2022, it has supported fast charging facilities with high turnover rates to enable more residents to use them.
To respond to fires, all charging facilities supported by Gyeonggi Province have been installed outdoors since 2023, and emergency stop buttons that can halt charging have been installed. Additionally, starting this year, a charging limit of 95% has been applied to prevent battery overcharging, and functions to detect and cut off abnormal cable temperatures at charging facilities are being added during installation.
Kim Hyun-dae, Director of the Future Growth Industry Bureau of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "We understand that recent electric vehicle fires have caused significant concern among residents regarding the use of electric vehicles. Through this inspection, Gyeonggi Province will proactively manage charging facilities to do its best in promoting zero-emission vehicles and ensuring safety."
As of the end of July, Gyeonggi Province has 134,741 electric vehicles and 100,513 electric vehicle charging facilities.
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