Russian gas stations add EV charging stations

By November 2016, all of Russia’s gas stations will also have charging stations for electric cars.

Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev signed a decree on August 27 that mandates the country to have the electric-car charging stations by November next year. All costs for installing, and operating the charging stations will be shouldered by the gas-station owners, the decree says.

Currently there are only 28 public charging stations in the country, operated by the Moscow United Electric Grid Company.

Charging stations costs ranges from 100,000 rubles (USD1,480) for a Level 1 AC unit, to 3.5 million rubles (USD51,720) for a DC fast-charging station, according to Maxim Osorin, head of electric-car seller and charging-network operator Revolta Motors. The decree doesn’t specify what type of charging station gas-companies should install.

Medvedev hopes the decree will increase electric car sales. There are only 500 cars in the whole of Russia, compared to its neighbor country Norway with more than 50,000 electric cars.