From 1 October, the Brussels Government will penalise electric vehicle owners with a rotation tariff of €0.06 per minute to prevent monopolisation of public infrastructure, Bruzz reports.
Drivers will only face this fee if their car remains plugged into a terminal for more than six hours between 09:00 and 22:00.
The measure targets a severe drop in the accessibility of charging spots. Brussels grid operator Sibelga notes that, on average, motorists leave vehicles connected for six hours and 30 minutes.
An 18-kilowatt-hour charge requires just two hours and 20 minutes to complete. This bottleneck led to frustrations among drivers searching for available spots, despite the region steadily expanding its network.
"Charging stations are not parking spaces," stated Brussels State Secretary for Energy Audrey Henry (MR). She was very insistent on making sure the current proposal went through. State Secretary for Environment Ans Persoons (Vooruit) backed the initiative to accelerate the capital's climate transition.
At the same time, electric mobility is surging across the capital. Roughly one in four newly sold cars in the Brussels-Capital Region runs entirely on battery power. Corporate automobiles are driving this shift, with electric models now making up 61% of new company vehicles.
The policy introduced by the Brussels Government is not first in Belgium. Antwerp applies an identical per-minute penalty after a battery hits full capacity, while Ghent imposes a €3.60 hourly fee for cars parked longer than four hours.
Urban density makes public chargers essential for the region's green ambitions. The capital currently hosts 9,779 public charging points, yet the government aims to deploy 22,000 active terminals by 2035.
Most residents simply cannot install domestic chargers, with private garage ownership hovering at around 10% throughout the capital.
