"On the current map, the Ministry of Energy has addressed private operators, in partnership with the National Association for Electric Mobility, the Association of Romanian Municipalities, the Union of County Councils in Romania and the Association of Communes in Romania, precisely in an attempt to gather all this information and present it in an accessible format for Romania. At this moment, we are talking about an informative map available on the Ministry of Energy's website, but the vision is more ambitious than that, and we put ourselves in the shoes of the Romanian user, the one who drives an electric car and wants to get from point A to point B. It is unpleasant to run out of energy in such a situation, and then we want to facilitate primarily a unique interface, a single entry point, a single gate for all users, so that there are no situations where they have to download 6, 8, 10 different applications on their mobile phone. Also, it is very important during the development of this project to supplement it with a sensor-based IoT system - the Internet of Things, through which I, as a user, can see in real-time if the station where I propose to go or where I need to go is free because beyond it, I might not have the energy to go further", said Burduja.

According to the minister, this initiative falls within the European trend in which Europe aims to reach 75 million registered electric cars by 2030 and the ambition to have fast charging stations every 60 kilometers on main roads.

"In Romania, 42,000 electric cars were in circulation, and only last year, 16,800 were registered, an increase of 35% compared to 2022. We invite all Romanians, all those who are part of this ecosystem, to send the charging points to office@anne.ro to actually have this complete map in the shortest time possible. It is important to reflect the Electric Up 1 program here as well. I want to thank the operators who responded very quickly to our request and I'll tell you the message I gave them today. I told them that, from our perspective, what matters first and foremost is the citizen's interest, and this is a double one. On the one hand, to have a single application, thus a single interface, to have an easier life using it, and on the other hand, to have this real-time visibility, where one can charge their car when they need to", emphasized the official.

The official also pointed out that the market should organize itself; otherwise, the model of Portugal can be applied, where the Government legislated the obligation of charging station operators to register in a single and official application.

"It is true that there are operators who prefer to have their own applications because this means loyalty of the final consumer, bonus systems, etc. But we believe we can find a solution to please both parties. I told them that I would be happy if the market organized itself. This is a principle in a capitalist economy. If not, we will also consider the model of other states, such as Portugal. There, the Government came and said, 'This is the official application. You all have the obligation to register here, and this is the application used by citizens, with a single payment system'. I hope the market will organize itself", mentioned Sebastian Burduja.

At the end of November last year, the Minister of Energy announced the completion of the implementation stage of projects financed through the Electric Up Program. The value of the contracts amounts to nearly 480 million lei for the over 1,500 beneficiaries who have already been paid.