The Balearic Energy Institute (IBE) has begun work to improve the MELIB network, which will modernise the public network of electric vehicle charging points in the Balearic Islands and guarantee better service to users, including improvements in maintenance, new application management and the incorporation of 24-hour 365 days a year telephone customer service.

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All these improvements will be available during the month of July. The process of migration and updating of the recharge points and the mobile application is currently underway. During this period, which will last a few weeks, the points will continue to be operational and will operate freely, so that any user will be able to use them and connect without the need for a card or mobile application. This will mean that in the application, those points that are in the process of migration will appear in grey until the migration of the system has been completed, but they will still be operational.

Likewise, once all the charging points have been updated, the new mobile application will come into operation, which will be updated with improved features. It should be noted that this improvement process has begun in the recharging points established in Formentera and some of Mallorca.

Improvement actions

As for the telephone service, it is planned to install a sticker on all recharging points where a telephone number and an email customer service that will be operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year will appear. This service will be available in Catalan, Spanish and English throughout the year and will also be available in German during the summer months. This tool will make it possible to resolve possible incidents remotely.

In parallel to the telephone service, the new contract also establishes the maintenance of the Govern’s recharging points, and a preventive and corrective maintenance service for the recharging points will be made available to local councils. This service will include an annual check-up to ensure they are working properly, and the repair of any faults at the point within a maximum of 2 hours if materials and equipment do not need to be replaced. This maintenance service also includes the cost of labour for any repairs that have to be made, and only the cost of the materials or equipment replaced will be invoiced.

It should be remembered that the IBE has sent the agreement to all the town councils and Island Councils of the Balearic Islands, which may decide to take advantage of this maintenance service. At this point, it should be noted that as of today almost half of the municipalities of the Balearic Islands have already opted in.

As for the improvements to the mobile application’s features, the main novelty to be introduced will be the possibility of charging for the recharges that are made, in this sense, the municipalities will be able to set the recharge price they deem appropriate to compensate for energy costs or the length of stay. In this regard, the IBE is at the disposal of the local councils to advise them on the recommended tariffs to be applied.

The award price was 220,321 euros plus VAT and Efimob will be responsible for migrating the recharging points to the new MELIB system, implementing the new mobile application, providing remote assistance by telephone and maintaining the Govern’s recharging points and those of the local councils that have taken part in this tender. It should be noted that to date, a total of 23 town councils and the Council of Menorca have already signed the agreement with the IBE to adhere to this maintenance.

The contract is unique for the whole of the Balearic Islands, but it is divided into three action zones (action zone 1, Mallorca; action zone 2, Menorca; and action zone 3, Ibiza and Formentera).

Currently, the Balearic Islands have a total of 880 public access points, of which more than 70% (628 points) are integrated in the MELIB. Of these 628 points of the MELIB network, 485 are in Mallorca, 59 in Menorca, 70 in Ibiza and 14 in Formentera.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)