How to install a charging station: work, utility and timelines

Installing the charger takes little time. What sets when the charging station switches on is the energy: whether the property can handle the new load and, if it can't, how long the utility takes to estimate and do the work. Many people call the utility the "concessionária": it is the company that delivers energy in your region, like Copel in Paraná. This text shows the seven steps of the installation, in order, with the timelines ANEEL sets for each one.

The timelines below are from the text of ANEEL Normative Resolution No. 1,000/2021 published in the Official Gazette. The rule receives updates, so check the version in force on ANEEL's website before relying on a timeline.

1. Electrical assessment

Before choosing the charger, an electrician or engineer assesses what the property has: the power of the energy service, the load already connected, the space in the panel and the distance to the space. That is where the possible power comes from. If the new load exceeds what the service can handle, the request to the utility enters the schedule.

One rule weighs heavily here. Under REN 1,000/2021 (art. 23), a unit with an installed load of up to 75 kW is connected, as a rule, in low voltage. Above 75 kW, with a contracted demand of up to 2,500 kW, the connection is in medium voltage (Group A). A DC charger of 80 kW passes that limit on its own. The effect on the budget is in how much it costs to install a charging station. When the point enters Group A, contracted demand comes into play, and the Velquia blog shows how to estimate it and how to avoid exceeding it: charging station contracted demand.

2. Design

The electrical design, signed by a technical manager, defines the charger, the cables, the protections and the energy service. It follows the technical rules and standards of the utility and of the official bodies (art. 553). If the charger is going to serve the public, also check art. 552: charging equipment that is not for exclusively private use must be compatible with open, public-domain protocols for communication and for remote supervision and control.

The design also addresses fire safety. Since the end of February 2026 a national Fire Department guideline for charging points has been in effect, with uniform design and inspection parameters, according to the ABVE study with the Tupi platform. The permit and municipal requirements vary from city to city.

3. Request to the utility

The installation of a charging station must be notified to the utility beforehand when it calls for a new connection, an increase or reduction of load or a change in voltage level (art. 550). In those cases, the path is the preliminary estimate, mandatory for a new connection and for an increase in the demanded power (art. 63). It is free and brings the conditions, the costs and the timelines of the connection (art. 64).

After the request, the utility has up to 5 business days to check whether the documents are complete (art. 71). The timelines for delivering the preliminary estimate, counted from the request (art. 64):

Situation	Preliminary estimate timeline
Voltage below 69 kV, no work on the grid, at most the service connection line	up to 15 days
Voltage below 69 kV, with work on the distribution or transmission grid	up to 30 days
Other connections	up to 45 days

When there is no work that is the utility's responsibility, it does not issue an estimate: it informs the next steps and sends the contracts (art. 64, § 1). The timelines may be suspended if it needs to consult another utility or the ONS, or depends on authorization from another body, and it must give notice beforehand.

4. Approval and contracts

With the estimate in hand, you approve it and authorize the work. If the service is free, with no financial participation, the timeline is 10 business days; in other cases, the estimate's validity applies, which is at least 10 business days (art. 83). After approval, the utility has up to 5 business days to send the contracts (art. 84), and you have up to 30 days to return them signed and pay your share, if any (art. 85).

The preliminary estimate cannot include costs of administration, engineering, design, surveying or supervision of the works that are the utility's (art. 98, § 4). It's worth reading line by line.

5. Connection work

When the connection calls for work on the grid, the utility's maximum timelines are these (art. 88):

Type of work	Maximum timeline
Low-voltage connection, with work on the overhead low-voltage grid, including replacing or installing a transformer	up to 60 days
Connection up to medium voltage, with work of up to 1 km on the overhead medium-voltage grid	up to 120 days
Other connections below 69 kV, without work at 69 kV or more	up to 365 days

The timeline counts from the estimate's approval, in free Group B service with no contract to return, or from the return of the signed contracts and payment, in other cases. To save time, the rule allows requesting the advance of the work that is the utility's, by contributing funds or by carrying out the work, and the utility informs the procedure and the form of reimbursement (art. 86).

This is the stretch that delays charging stations the most today. For ABVE, the sector's bottleneck is in the timeline and the conditions for connecting new loads to the grid, and in September 2026 ANEEL opened Public Consultation 033/2026 to discuss these rules. The timelines in this section may change with the outcome.

6. Internal work and charger installation

While the utility handles the grid, the work on your side can move ahead: the energy service to the utility's standard, the panel, the cables to the space, the charger's base, the floor, the signage, protection against impact and lighting. The internal installations and those at the connection point are the consumer's (art. 98). Getting this part ready before the inspection keeps the connection from waiting on it.

7. Inspection, connection and commissioning

With the work ready, the utility inspects the energy service and installs the metering. The timelines, in business days (art. 91):

• up to 5 business days in low voltage;
• up to 10 business days in medium voltage, from 2.3 kV to below 69 kV;
• up to 15 business days above 69 kV.

If the inspection fails the installation, the utility must deliver the report with the reasons and corrections within 3 business days, and you request a new inspection after fixing it (art. 94). It can fail the installation for lack of an approved design, if its technical rule requires that approval and this was stated in the estimate.

With the energy connected, what's left is commissioning the charger: testing a full charge, linking the equipment to the billing and monitoring platform, setting the price and hours and making the point visible in the apps drivers use to find where to charge. A finished point that no one can find starts life with little use, as shown in a charging station with little use.

What to do before the first step

The seven steps start from a chosen location. If the location is still open, the criteria are in where to install a charging station, and the questions that decide whether the point pays off, in is a charging station worth it?. Those who have the space and prefer not to deal with construction work or the utility can give up the space to a company that installs and operates the point, as in Elektro Charge partnerships.

Where Elektro Charge comes in

In our network there have already been more than 4,300 charges and more than 100,000 kWh delivered. For those who want to set up their own point, the feasibility consulting analyzes the location, the available power, the cost and the return before you invest.