GEORGETOWN, Guyana – 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).
A statement issued by the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said that the charging infrastructure for EVs in the region came under focus during a recently held webinar to discuss the standardisation and harmonisation of the facilities to ensure interoperability. It said participants shared experiences and sought more information on the EV landscape in the region.
Director of Ziklag Consulting Group Company Limited, Dr. Soren E. Maloney said that while there is acceleration of EV uptake across CARICOM, member states are at different stages in developing standards for the charging infrastructure.
Maloney, whose presentation focused on Guyana’s experience with EV charging, made references 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, highlighting 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.
