The government has empowered competent authorities to look into all aspects of supporting the launch of electric vehicles in Kuwait.

The responsible agencies, in coordination with local vehicle dealers, will formulate the policies infrastructure safety and other specifications prior to the launch of electric vehicles in the country. Dealers are reported to be planning to begin distributing electric vehicles in the country by 2022.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) is understood to be studying a mechanism to install battery charging stations for electric vehicles at ministry buildings for the use by ministry vehicles. Whether employees of the ministry and the public should be allowed access to these charging stations is still being debated. Other ministries and government entities are expected to follow the lines set by MEW.

Public places such as commercial and industrial complexes, cooperative societies and other areas, in addition to existing petrol stations could be considered for installing battery charging stations, said the MEW. A special tariff is also likely to be set for each sector based on total consumption.

The ministry said it is keen to facilitate procedures with regard to electric cars and will submit an official letter to the Fatwa and Legislation Department to seek its opinion with regard to the tariffs as it will differ from one sector to another. On the other hand, technical specifications of chargers for electric vehicles, their infrastructure and safety aspects would be specified by specialists at the Public Authority for Industry.

In the meantime, experts have called on government agencies to benefit from the experiences of countries where electrical cars are prevalent, in terms of ways to calculate costs or distribute points of chargers, and also determine the effects of the spread of electrical cars on rising costs of electricity consumption in the country.


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