AER discusses adoption of electric vehicles
It is expected that the cost of EVs by 2020 and 2021 will be affordable
Qais al Zakwani
Muscat - The Authority for Electricity Regulation (AER) on Monday, organised a press conference during which it discussed the recommendations and proposals related to the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the sultanate.
It explained the most important points in the report issued by the authority in 2018 on global best practices for the adoption of light EVs in the local market.
Qais bin Saud al Zakwani, executive director, AER, said, “AER looked in 2018 for the best practices in the world in the field of using electric vehicles. This technology is a modern one that requires to have a regulatory framework.
“AER issued its report in 2018 regarding EVs and it updated its data in 2019 in this regard.”
He added, “The main challenges facing the use of EVs in the sultanate is the cost which is very high. It is expected that the cost of EVs by 2020 and 2021 will be affordable to users in the sultanate.”
Zakwani explained that coordination is currently under way with the Royal Oman Police and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in terms of specifications and standards, noting that AER is seeking to remove all obstacles that limit the use of EVs, in cooperation with the concerned authorities.
Ahmed bin Hamad al Maghdari, engineer at AER, said that with regard to specifications and standards, AER, in coordination with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is cooperating with the GCC Standardization Organization on the preparation of standard specifications for EVs at the level of the GCC states.
He pointed out that 80 percent of the charge of EVs will be from homes and that some agencies have taken initiatives to provide parking and priority for electric vehicles.