French legislation strictly regulates the selling electricity in France.
However, specific measures have been taken to enable players in the sector to respond to current environmental and societal challenges.
📓 What French law says
Today in France, only energy suppliers are authorized to re-sell electricity (obligations governed by the Energy Code).
At the end of 2019, the Loi d'Orientation des Mobilités (LOM) introduced a clarification for entities that provide electric vehicle charging services. They are therefore considered not to be selling electricity, but a service, which can be billed in energy (so in €/kWh).
👉 Electra, in its capacity as a charge point operator (CPO), is one of these entities.
🛠 Technical constraints
There are a number of technical specifications to be met, particularly with the meters integrated into the terminals that measure the energy distributed.
To protect consumers, energy meters on the terminals must be certified by a legal entity.
At European level, the MID (Measuring Instrument Directive) certification is authoritative, and in France, the legal entity in charge of certifying these meters is the Laboratoire National de Métrologie et d'Essais (LNE).
For the majority of our charging stations installed in France (DC fast-charging stations), the standard to be met to obtain this certification was published in March 2022 (Décision n° 22.00.570.001.1 du 1er mars 2022 relative aux compteurs d'énergie électrique à courant direct).
👉 Even though the standard provides for a deadline running until the end of 2023 for compliance, Electra is committed to working with the authorities to get ahead of these rules, and has undertaken a certification process for its kiosks.
For any further information, please send us an email at help@go-electra.com ⚡