Charging points increasing to 362 by end of the year

The Energy Ministry announced that through a €3 million investment, the amount of charging points in Malta will increase to 362 till the end of the year.

Abigail Cutajar, advisor to the Energy Minister also said the target is to have 1,200 charging pillars in a few years' time.

"The technology that we are launching goes beyond the present one, as we are erecting 108 medium chargers and 22 fast chargers," Cutajar said. She explained medium charging usually takes between six to nine hours and fast charging takes between half and three hours.

Cutajar mentioned that there will be an open charge point protocol and interoperability, that allows everyone to make use of the pillars, including tourists.

The present 56 pillars will be all replaced with the news ones, which will all have a two-point platform, meaning that two cars could be charged on the same point at the same time. No application fee and monthly charge are applicable , with the new tariff rates being as follows

Medium charging pillars

• Off peak hours - €0.1698 per unit
• Peak hours - €0.1885 per unit

Fast charging pillars

• Off peak hours - €0.1798 per unit
• Peak hours - €0.1985 per unit

Energy minister Miriam Dalli said that a website and a mobile app will be launched, that will help the user track the charging of the vehicle, track the Carbon Dioxide emissions and also access general information.

She said it is estimated that a typical car user that commutes around 50km per week, pays around €30 on fuel per week, while the same user would pay €13 per week when using an electric car.

“We are offering among the best tariffs and grants in Europe, and we are looking to create green jobs in the sector. This is a transition that will bring in new investment,” Dalli said.

Transport minister Ian Borg said “transport is the largest polluting source” and the challenge is to incentivise the public to make the change. He highlighted the electric vehicle grants that go up to €12,000 and the target to transform the bus fleet to electric ones by 2030.

Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi stated that the EU funds will sustain this change and help with the carbon reduction strategy.

“€1 million out of the €3 million to be spent on this project, come from EU funds. It is important that these funds are used for environmental projects that lead us to a carbon neutral economy,” said Zrinzo Azzopardi.