We propose a new approach to laminated piezoelectric plates based on a refinement of the electric potential as function of the thickness coordinate of the laminate and accounting for shear effects. Moreover, the variation of the electric potential as function of the thickness coordinate is modelled for each layer of the laminate. The equation for the laminated piezoelectric plate are then obtained by using a variational formulation involving mechanical surface loads or prescribed electric potential on the top and bottom faces of the plate. In addition to the equations for the generalized stress resultants (due to the shear effects), the equation of the electric charge conservation is also deduced for the 2D model. A particular attention is devoted to the single piezoelectric plate and bimorph structure and the throughthickness distribution of the displacements, electric potential as well as stresses are given for different kinds of electromechanical loads. The results thus obtained are compared to those provided by a finite element method performed for the full 3D model. A good agreement is observed for plates made of layers of PZT-4 piezoelectric material. The comparison ascertains the effectiveness of the present 2D approach to piezoelectric laminates.