# Planning EV charging on company premises: permits, subsidies

A charging station on company premises is planned from the grid connection. First you establish how much power the existing connection can spare for charging alongside operations, then you choose AC or DC charging points according to how long the fleet stays parked. Every charging station is reported to the distribution grid operator; on existing company car parks a building permit is usually not required. Cantonal subsidies almost always require an application before construction starts.

Planning EV charging on company premises: grid connection and charging management, AC or DC, notification to the grid operator, building permit and cantonal subsidies 2026.

Kanonische Seite: https://www.ampere-dynamic.ch/en/knowledge/ev-charging-company-premises/
Veröffentlicht: 2026-10-01

**Key Takeaways**

- **The grid connection sets the size:** Ten wallboxes at 11 kW add up to a 110 kW peak. Charging management keeps charging within the power the connection can spare alongside operations.
- **AC for overnight parking:** At 11 kW AC a 70 kWh battery charges in around 7 hours. DC at 50 to 400 kW only pays off when vehicles stand for short periods.
- **Every station must be reported:** Every charging station is reported to the grid operator. On existing company car parks a building permit is usually not required.
- **Subsidies only with an application before construction:** Zurich pays 30 percent up to CHF 60'000, and the programme ends in 2026. Most cantonal programmes require the application before construction starts.

The charging post is the smallest part of the project. Whether a charging station on company premises takes a few weeks or many months depends on the grid connection, the choice between AC and DC, the notification to the grid operator and the timing of the subsidy application. This article works through the planning in that order, for the passenger cars and vans of a company fleet. Charging parks for e-trucks are on a different scale; they are covered in the article [Planning e-truck charging infrastructure](https://www.ampere-dynamic.ch/en/knowledge/charging-infrastructure-businesses/).

## How much power can the grid connection spare for charging?

The first figure is not the number of charging points but the spare capacity at the grid connection. It is the connection capacity minus the load the operation itself needs.

Ten wallboxes at 11 kW each produce a peak of 110 kW when they charge simultaneously. Whether the existing connection can carry that is shown by the site's [load profile](https://www.ampere-dynamic.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/lastgang/) in 15-minute intervals: it reveals when the operation has its peaks and how much reserve remains in the other hours. Charging management, usually part of an [energy management system](https://www.ampere-dynamic.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/energiemanagementsystem/), then distributes the available power across the connected vehicles and caps the total at that reserve.

This has a second effect. For larger consumers, the grid operator charges a [demand charge](https://www.ampere-dynamic.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/leistungspreis/) on the highest 15-minute value. Uncontrolled charging while production is running sets that peak; controlled charging shifts the load into hours with reserve. The article [Peak shaving with battery storage](https://www.ampere-dynamic.ch/en/knowledge/peak-shaving-businesses/) explains how the measurement window works.

Space matters too. The distance from the main distribution board to the parking spaces determines cable cross-section and trenching. In an underground car park, cables can often run along the ceiling; an outdoor car park needs conduit blocks in the ground. Lay the empty conduits for later charging points at the same time, or the second stage will cost more than the first.

## AC or DC: what charging power does the fleet need?

Parking time decides. Vehicles that stand on the premises overnight or for a working day charge with alternating current (AC); direct current (DC) is only needed when there is little time between two jobs.

A 70 kWh battery needs, on paper, just over 6 hours at an 11 kW wallbox from empty to full, around 7 including charging losses. That is enough for passenger cars and most vans that return in the evening. Charging points with 22 kW AC only shorten the time if the vehicle's on-board charger accepts that power; this is stated in the data sheet and should be checked before ordering. Every charging point planned at 22 instead of 11 kW also doubles the power the charging management has to distribute.

DC fast chargers with 50 to 400 kW are for vehicles that have to recharge during the day: service vehicles running several rounds, vans in shift operation, e-trucks between two circuits. Unit, supply line and grid connection cost considerably more than for a wallbox, and every DC charging point takes up a large share of the spare connection capacity. In Switzerland, Type 2 has become the standard connector for AC and CCS for DC ([EnergieSchweiz, Glossar der Elektromobilität](https://www.energieschweiz.ch/programme/fahr-mit-dem-strom/glossar-der-elektromobilitaet/)).

**Planning process: from load profile to first charge**

1. **Analyse load profile and fleet profile** — We overlay the fleet's charging demand on the site's load profile: vehicles, battery sizes, parking times, daily mileage. This gives the number of charging points, AC or DC and the spare capacity at the connection.
2. **Grid operator and subsidy office first** — Technical connection application to the distribution grid operator and subsidy application to the canton, both before charging stations are ordered. If needed, a building application to the municipality.
3. **Installation and charging management** — Laying the supply lines, mounting the charging points by a licensed electrical installation company, commissioning the charging management with power limit and priorities.
4. **Operation and billing** — Monitoring of the charging points, maintenance and, where employees or third parties charge, allocation of the charging energy per vehicle or person.

## Does a charging station in a company car park need a permit?

A building permit usually not, a notification to the grid operator always. The two procedures run separately and are often confused.

For the building permit, the BPUK guidance states: charging stations on existing car parks of commercial properties do without a building permit in most cases. It is likely to be needed if the station is operated commercially or stands on public land, and always when new parking spaces are created ([BPUK, Orientierungshilfe Baubewilligungsverfahren E-Ladestationen](https://www.bpuk.ch/fileadmin/Dokumente/bpuk/public/de/dokumentation/merkblaetter/Baubewilligungsverfahren__E-Ladestationen.pdf)). Cantons can deviate: Basel-Stadt requires a building permit when several outdoor installations are built at once, for example at company buildings.

The notification to the grid operator applies to every charging station, even one on an ordinary socket. The licensed electrical installation company submits the technical connection application before installation, followed by the installation notice; stations above 3.7 kVA must be controllable by the grid operator ([VSE, Infoblatt Ladestationen](https://www.strom.ch/de/media/9469/download)). The more power is added, the more likely the grid operator is to check whether the connection needs reinforcing. Have that answer before you order charging stations.

If you bill employees, tenants or customers for electricity by the kilowatt hour, you need a meter that meets the requirements of the Ordinance on Electrical Energy and Power Measuring Instruments. For charging points with changing users, the Federal Institute of Metrology provided for a transitional arrangement as of August 2023 ([METAS, FAQ Elektromobilität](https://www.metas.ch/dam/metas/de/data/gesetzliches_messwesen/faq_e-mobilitaet_20230823-d.pdf.download.pdf/faq_e-mobilitaet_20230823-d.pdf)). Settle the billing before you choose the charging station model; a retrofitted meter costs more than a built-in one.

## What subsidies are available for commercial charging stations?

For passenger cars there is no national programme, only cantonal contributions with widely varying conditions. Four of the five listed here require the application to be submitted before construction starts; only Basel-Stadt also accepts it after the installation is complete.

- **Canton of Zurich:** 30 percent of the proven costs for the basic infrastructure, at most CHF 60'000 per application. Only parking spaces used exclusively by company vehicles qualify; spaces for employees, visitors and customers are excluded ([Kanton Zürich, Förderprogramm Ladeinfrastruktur](https://www.zh.ch/de/mobilitaet/gesamtverkehrsplanung/dinamo/foerderprogramm-ladeinfrastruktur.html)).
- **Canton of Basel-Stadt:** 60 percent of the eligible costs, at most CHF 1'300 per charging point in private car parks, programme until the end of 2030 ([Kanton Basel-Stadt, Ladeinfrastruktur](https://www.bs.ch/wsu/aue/abteilung-koordinationsstelle-umweltschutz/elektromobilitaet/ladeinfrastruktur)).
- **Canton of Graubünden:** CHF 400 per parking space, at most CHF 50'000 per building, from four parking spaces for fleet vehicles at an existing commercial building and only with load management.
- **Canton of Thurgau:** 15 percent of the connection costs, at most CHF 30'000, for charging stations up to 22 kW in buildings permitted before 2019.
- **Canton of Schaffhausen:** 25 percent of the connection costs, meaning the supply lines and not the charging stations themselves, for charging stations up to 22 kW in buildings permitted before 2019.

> **Zurich: programme ends at the end of 2026**
>
> On 28 September 2026, over 96 percent of the CHF 50 million in the Zurich subsidy programme had been committed, and the programme expires at the end of 2026. An application only makes sense if the planning is far enough along to submit it in full before installation begins. E-trucks have their own national programme: «in charge» supports road transport SMEs with up to 40 percent, more on this in the article [Planning e-truck charging infrastructure](https://www.ampere-dynamic.ch/en/knowledge/charging-infrastructure-businesses/).

The amounts change every year, and several programmes run out in order of receipt. You will find the current status for your canton in the [Subsidy guide 2026](https://www.ampere-dynamic.ch/en/knowledge/subsidy-guide-2026/); we handle the subsidy application as part of our [subsidy advisory service](https://www.ampere-dynamic.ch/en/services/foerderung/).

## What photovoltaics and storage contribute at the charging station

Electricity from your own roof costs a business around 8 to 12 Rp./kWh, electricity from the grid 20 to 30 Rp./kWh (ElCom, 2026 tariffs for businesses). Every kilowatt hour a vehicle charges from your own system shifts that difference in the business's favour.

How much this adds up to depends on when the vehicles are parked. Fleet vehicles that charge at night use little solar power. Employees' cars that stand in the car park during the day match the production curve better. Charging management shifts the charging power into hours with solar surplus and so raises the system's [self-consumption](https://www.ampere-dynamic.ch/en/knowledge/glossary/eigenverbrauch/). A battery storage absorbs midday surpluses and releases them to the charging points when a peak looms; whether it pays off is shown by the comparison in the article [Battery storage or grid expansion](https://www.ampere-dynamic.ch/en/knowledge/battery-storage-vs-grid-expansion/).

At [Hugelshofer Services AG](https://www.ampere-dynamic.ch/en/references/hugelshofer-services/), delivered by Ampere Dynamic together with the Hugelshofer Group and selected partners, 40 percent of the charging energy comes from the company's own 1'001 kWp PV system (Ampere Dynamic project data, as of commissioning in 2024). E-trucks charge there; for a passenger car fleet the same logic applies on a smaller scale. Which combination of PV, storage and charging points suits your site, we establish in a preliminary study, delivered 4 to 6 weeks after we receive the consumption data. The offering at a glance: [E-mobility](https://www.ampere-dynamic.ch/en/solutions/e-mobility/).

## Frequently asked questions

**Does a charging station in a company car park need a building permit?**

In most cases not on existing car parks of commercial properties, according to the guidance of the Swiss Conference of Building, Planning and Environment Directors (BPUK). A permit is likely to be needed if the station is operated commercially or stands on public land, and always when new parking spaces are created. Basel-Stadt also requires one when several outdoor installations are built at once, for example at company buildings.

**Does a charging station have to be reported to the grid operator?**

Yes, every one. According to the VSE information sheet on charging stations, the notification requirement applies to all charging stations, including those on an ordinary socket. The licensed electrical installation company submits the technical connection application and the installation notice to the distribution grid operator. Stations above 3.7 kVA must be controllable by the grid operator.

**How long does an electric car take to charge at an 11 kW wallbox?**

A 70 kWh battery needs, on paper, just over 6 hours at 11 kW from empty to full, around 7 hours including charging losses. This assumes the vehicle's on-board charger accepts 11 kW on three phases. For fleet vehicles parked overnight on the company premises this is usually enough; DC fast charging is only needed when vehicles stand for short periods.

**Which cantons subsidise charging stations for companies?**

There is no national programme for passenger cars. Cantonal contributions are available in Zurich (30 percent, at most CHF 60'000, programme ends 2026), Basel-Stadt (60 percent, at most CHF 1'300 per charging point), Graubünden (CHF 400 per parking space), Thurgau and Schaffhausen (15 and 25 percent of the connection costs), among others. For e-trucks, the «in charge» programme supports road transport SMEs with up to 40 percent.