ACMobility is pushing for streamlined local permits to speed up investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, saying fragmented requirements across local governments are slowing the deployment of stations needed to support the country’s growing EV market.
ACMobility Head of Mobility Infrastructure Carla Buencamino said varying documentation and approval processes among local government units can lengthen the time between site selection and the opening of charging stations, making rapid network expansion more difficult.
“At this point, as with anything new, there are still some challenges with the processes. Currently, there are different requirements, different processes across the different LGUs,” Buencamino said.
The company is working with the Department of Energy to identify these bottlenecks and support regulatory changes that could standardize and simplify permitting.
“If you want to go for high numbers, we’re really hoping to have this streamlined process,” she said, adding that faster approvals would benefit ACMobility as well as other charging providers and help strengthen the broader EV ecosystem.
Despite the permitting constraints, ACMobility remains on track to deploy more than 1,000 public charging points. It had installed well over 500 as of July.
About 70 percent of its network is concentrated in Greater Metro Manila, although the company has already established charging sites across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Buencamino said the company will continue expanding in line with EV adoption, placing chargers in malls, offices, condominiums, estates, gasoline stations, and along major highways.
For ACMobility, the permitting issue is increasingly a question of scale. Faster and more consistent approvals could allow the company and other charging operators to deploy infrastructure more quickly, broadening the network needed to make EV ownership more practical beyond major urban centers.
