CARICOM outlines key measures to harmonise EV charging standards across region

Safety measures, charger installation requirements, and inspection procedures are among the areas identified as critical to harmonising electric vehicles (EVs) charging infrastructure across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

The charging infrastructure for EVs in the Region came under focus during a webinar the CARICOM Secretariat held recently to discuss the standardisation and harmonisation of the facilities to ensure interoperability. Participants shared experiences and sought more information on the EV landscape in the Region.

Dr. Soren E. Maloney, P.E., R.Eng, Director of Ziklag Consulting Group Company Limited, delivered the feature presentation of the session which focused on Guyana’s experience with EV charging. He pointed out that while there is acceleration of EV uptake across CARICOM, Member States are at different stages in developing standards for the charging infrastructure.

He alluded to the challenges countries face, such as small technical workforces, limited budgets, and insufficient capacity to develop standards and regulatory capacity.

“Interoperability therefore is a challenge,” he said.

Reflecting on the Guyana experience, he highlighted the importance of institutional and process flow clarity, stakeholder feedback, embedding capacity-building, and developing standards that reflect local conditions, market maturity, and scale.

“You can’t cut and paste standards from other regions or countries,” he advised and warned that standards should not lock countries into a particular technology.