Residents of a residential compound in Taoyuan County, Changde, Hunan, have been grappling with the difficulty of charging electric vehicles in their underground parking spaces. The problem stemmed from the original installation of charging meter boxes in a second-floor distribution room, which was far from the parking area, leading to high wiring costs and safety risks. Recently, a renovation project to relocate these meter boxes to the underground garage has commenced.
The issue came to light in March of this year when the Hunan Energy Regulatory Office received a complaint regarding the electricity meter installation for EV chargers. Residents reported the inconvenient location and sought optimization. Subsequently, the office, together with the Hunan Energy Bureau, formed an investigation team and promptly conducted an on-site inspection.
The investigation revealed that the residential compound had not planned cable ducts or centralized meter box installation areas for the underground garage during its construction. To effectively resolve the problem, the investigation team engaged in extensive coordination. They instructed the power supply company to take the lead and consult with relevant departments such as housing and construction, fire protection, and property service enterprises to facilitate the construction of charging infrastructure.
Under the team's continuous supervision, State Grid Changde Power Supply Company developed an optimization plan and urged the property management to apply for administrative approvals, including design changes and fire safety acceptance. The core of the plan was to add centralized metering boxes in the underground garage. By mid-June, following sustained efforts, the renovation plan officially entered the construction phase.
Additionally, State Grid Changde Power Supply Company proactively pushed forward the power distribution renovation for charging facilities in existing residential communities in the area. Within two months, 27 renovation projects had been declared, and two of them had been completed.
The Hunan Energy Regulatory Office regards this joint investigation and supervision as a practical exercise of central-local coordinated regulation. It pledged to further deepen the collaboration mechanism with local energy authorities, focusing on livelihood issues such as facilitating the installation of charging facilities in residential communities, thereby helping to clear the last hurdles for the green energy transition.