Kyiv City State Administration has compiled a list of 6,500 locations for placing electric vehicle charging stations. The spaces for infrastructure are planned to be granted through open auctions on the Prozorro.Sales platform.

This is not merely a municipal decision — it is an attempt to structure a market that is currently developing chaotically. Several major charging infrastructure operators already operate in Kyiv, and access to high-traffic locations — parking lots near shopping centers, streets in residential areas, park-and-ride facilities — represents a direct competitive advantage.

The auction mechanism theoretically levels the playing field: a small operator and a major player start from the same position. However, without transparent criteria for lot formation and a public registry of auction winners, the auction could become a legalization of existing arrangements.

In parallel — the issue of pace. The number of electric vehicles in Ukraine grows annually: according to analysts, in 2023 the fleet exceeded 100,000 units, with the lion's share concentrated in Kyiv and its suburbs. The shortage of charging stations in residential areas is not a future problem but an already pressing issue for those without private parking.

Transferring locations through Prozorro resolves one question — "who gets the space" — but leaves another open: what will be the terms of the contracts, specifically lease duration, tariff regulation, and obligations regarding station commissioning.

If an auction winner receives a location for 10 years without an obligation to launch the station within, say, six months — the space will simply be frozen, and the infrastructure problem will persist.

Does the Kyiv City State Administration provide for specific timelines for station commissioning as a mandatory contract condition — and what will happen to the location if the operator fails to meet them?