DC2021-07-0023 — Providing for a Policy Framework on the Guidelines for the Development, Establishment, and Operation of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) in the Philippines

Status: superseded
Confidence: high
Effective date: 2021-07-24

Department Circular No. DC2021-07-0023, “Providing for a Policy Framework on the Guidelines for the Development, Establishment, and Operation of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) in the Philippines,” signed 9 July 2021 by DOE Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi [DC2021-07-0023, Signature block, 2021-07]. This is the DOE’s first dedicated EVCS framework, issued under its general RA 7638/EPIRA/EEC Act authority — nearly a year before EVIDA (RA 11697) lapsed into law in April 2022 and almost two years before EVIDA’s own EVCS circulars (DC2023-05-0010/0011/0012) took effect [DC2021-07-0023, Whereas clauses, 2021-07].

Superseded. Digest: DC2023-05-0011 — EVCS Provider Accreditation and EVCS Registration §31 names this circular in its Repealing Clause by number — “Provisions of DC No. DC2017-11-0011 and DC No. DC2021-07-0023, and other orders, issuances, rules, and regulations inconsistent with this DC, are hereby repealed, amended, modified, or superseded” [DC2023-05-0011, §31, 2023-05-12]. Read literally the clause repeals provisions, qualified by inconsistency, not the instrument as a whole; this digest nonetheless carries status: superseded and superseded-by: dc2023-05-0011 because the 2023 circular replaces this one’s entire subject matter under EVIDA, with the narrower reading recorded in superseded-by-basis:. See the already-ingested Electric Vehicles (Philippines) page, which also records this repeal.

Statutory basis and prior issuances cited

Grounded in RA 7638 §5(e)/(h) (DOE authority to regulate private-sector energy activity), EPIRA §§2(g)/(k) and 37(g)/(m) (demand-side management, alternative-fuel program development), and RA 11285 (EEC Act) §§3, 14-15, 23, 29 (MEP, energy labeling, DOE visitorial powers, alternative-fuels mandate) [DC2021-07-0023, Whereas clauses, 2021-07]. The whereas clauses are also a useful map of what DOE issuances already touched EVCS before this one consolidated them: DC2017-11-0011 (“Revised Retail Rules”) §32 reserved DOE’s right to separately regulate EV charging/battery swapping at retail outlets; DC2019-11-0014 (EEC-IRR) Rule VI §33 required DOE to issue electrical-safety-and-reliability guidelines; DC2020-02-0003 (National Smart Grid Policy Framework) §5.3.7.1 allowed non-regulatory, market-based EVCS pricing; DC2020-10-0023 §2 set open-access/non-discrimination principles for EV infrastructure; and DC2020-12-0026 (Energy Conserving Design of Buildings) Annex §IX addressed EV parking with charging stations [DC2021-07-0023, Whereas clauses, 2021-07]. This circular’s own stated purpose is to “consolidate and harmonize all existing issuances” on EVCS [DC2021-07-0023, Whereas clauses, 2021-07].

Definitions and scope

Covers “all activities related to the development, establishment, use, supply, distribution, and the operation of EVCS” [DC2021-07-0023, §2, 2021-07]. Twenty defined terms (§3) include: EVCS — all equipment delivering AC/DC to EVs, including battery swap stations (BSS), also termed EVSE; EV — for this circular’s purposes, limited to battery EVs and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEV), narrower than EVIDA’s later four-type taxonomy in Electric Vehicles (Philippines) ; and four charging-station classes — private (own-use only), public (open to the public for a fee, including at liquid-fuels retail outlets), semi-public (own-use or open to the public), and by extension liquid fuels retail outlet-sited stations [DC2021-07-0023, §3, 2021-07].

Notice, permitting, and technical requirements

Any person/entity must file a written notice with EUMB (Annex A) before engaging in EVCS business activity or construction, accompanied by SEC/DTI registration, LGU business permit, a project/business plan, proof of facility availability, locational/zoning clearance, a BFP Fire Safety Inspection Certificate, a DTI-BPS product certificate, and (where applicable) a DENR Environmental Compliance Certificate — the last five waived for private (own-use) stations [DC2021-07-0023, §4, 2021-07].

Four charging modes plus BSS (§6), all PNS-referenced: Mode 1 (standard AC socket, ≤16A/250V single-phase or ≤16A/480V three-phase), Mode 2 (Mode 1 plus in-cable protection per IEC 62752, ≤32A), Mode 3 (dedicated, permanently-wired AC EVCS with protective earthing), Mode 4 (AC or DC supply to a DC EVCS) — the same four-mode taxonomy Digest: DC2023-05-0011 — EVCS Provider Accreditation and EVCS Registration later restates with added PNS standard numbers. BSS is further broken into five subsystems: lane, battery handling, storage, charging, and supervisory/control [DC2021-07-0023, §6, 2021-07].

Safety (§7): all electrical components must meet §5’s general requirements; minimum ingress protection is IP41 indoor / IP54 outdoor — the same thresholds DC2023-05-0011 later carries forward; components need PS license or ICC certification; and an annual post-first-year maintenance/assessment by a licensed professional is required, with records kept for reportorial purposes [DC2021-07-0023, §7, 2021-07].

Labeling (§9): a 15-item EVCS marking schedule — manufacturer identification, DC/AC output type, applicable charging standard/protocol (SAE, IEC, GB/T, TESLA, CHAdeMO, CCS), rated voltage/current, maximum operating temperature, power input/output, no-load loss, total harmonic distortion, protection grade, frequency range, charging interface, and efficiency [DC2021-07-0023, §9, 2021-07].

Fees, incentives, and enforcement

Charging fees may be fixed, per-kWh, time-based, mixed, or cashless, for public/semi-public stations, subject to future ERC/other-agency guidelines; DUs may themselves become EVCS service providers subject to EPIRA §26 unbundling as ERC implements it [DC2021-07-0023, §8, 2021-07]. EUMB may endorse EVCS developers to DTI-BOI for EO 226 fiscal incentives, requiring a cost-benefit analysis, projected financials, company information, and business model (Annex D) [DC2021-07-0023, §15, 2021-07]. EVCS operators file quarterly consumption reports with EUMB (Annex B/C) due the 15th of the month following each quarter, feeding DOE’s eventual MEP-for-EVCS development [DC2021-07-0023, §12, 2021-07]. Enforcement incorporates Digest: DC2020-10-0023 — Prescribing Policy Framework for the Development of the Fuel Economy Rating, Fuel Economy Performance, and Related Energy Efficiency and Conservation Policies for the Transport Sector and Other Support Infrastructures ’s own §§6-11 monitoring/verification procedures by reference [DC2021-07-0023, §13, 2021-07], and DOE commits to a biennial review of EVCS rules [DC2021-07-0023, §19, 2021-07].

What superseded it

DC2023-05-0011 (12 May 2023) replaced this circular with a fuller EVCS Provider accreditation and per-location registration regime — three provider types (Operator/Service/Supplier), 3-year accreditation and registration validity, mandatory renewable-energy sourcing for commercial-use stations, and a PhP50,000-500,000 penalty schedule — issued under EVIDA rather than DOE’s general EPIRA/EEC Act authority. Compare Digest: DC2023-05-0011 — EVCS Provider Accreditation and EVCS Registration for the operative regime.

Full text: Cleaned copy