EVCB Guideline - Will EVB Requirement Hamper EV Charger Growth?

PLANMalaysia just released the long-awaited Electric Vehicle Charging Bay (EVCB) rules with approval from The Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (FRDM). The 74 page document outlines in detail every last criterion that CPOs and building owners, both new and old, must follow. You can view the document in detail HERE.

As the title reads, all EVCB must now be equipped with Vehicle Fire Blanket (VFB), which is one of the mandated standards. According to the table below, the quantity of VFB would vary depending on how many EVCB were made available, ranging from 1 VFB for 1 EVCB to up to 3 VFB for 11 to 15 EVCB.

Now let's pause here for a bit, as simple as the VFB might sound, it is surely not a cheap investment. Say a proper Bridgehill single use VFB would set you back RM10,600 per piece. The more economical option would be the Bridgehill reusable VFB that cost RM24,000 but is reusable for up to 30 EV fires.

The question is who is to bear this cost? From the PLANMalaysia Guidelines it would seem this responsibility falls on the CPO’s. Are the CPO’s ready to pump in more funding to meet these guidelines after already invested into setting up the EVCB? Having spoken to a few in the space, what we can tell is that not many are prepared for this as profits from all their EV charging station investment would only be realised “hopefully” in a decade as the EV space flourishes.

Now the next question, what about existing private residential building parking bays which are not operated by CPOs. There are quite a few residential buildings where its owners have managed to install personal AC chargers at their multistory parking lots. These chargers are not operated by any CPOs and are not mentioned in PLANMalaysia EVCB Guidelines.

Even though the management had granted the go-ahead for this private EV charger installation, we're not sure who will foot the bill for the VFB purchase, which we're sure will be necessary. Given that this EV charging installation is not for public use, it is obvious that it cannot come from the management fund. Are EV owners therefore forced to buy their own VFB?

Hopefully the relevant departments would step forward and address this matter swiftly to ensure the already slow progress of EV Charger deployment does not suffer a setback, 10,000 EV charger by 2025 is still high in the radar and the “rakyat” is watching.