Delhi: DTC signs deal to build seven charging stations in its properties

The charging stations, which will come up at Dwarka sector-8, Dwarka sector 2 depot, Mehrauli terminal, Nehru Place terminal, Okhla CW-II, Sukhdev Vihar depot and Kalkaji depot, will be built by Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) in collaboration with the DTC.

Delhi will soon get dedicated charging and battery swapping stations for electric vehicles (EVs) at seven properties, including bus depots,owned by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), transport minister Kailash Gahlot said on Tuesday, after signing an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a private firm for setting up the infrastructure.

Once commissioned, e-vehicle owners will be able to track the availability of slots at charging stations even on the Delhi government’s One Delhi mobile application, said Gahlot. (Picture for representational purposes only)

The charging stations, which will come up at Dwarka sector-8, Dwarka sector 2 depot, Mehrauli terminal, Nehru Place terminal, Okhla CW-II, Sukhdev Vihar depot and Kalkaji depot, will be built by Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) in collaboration with the DTC.

Once commissioned, EV owners will be able to track the availability of slots at the charging stations even on the Delhi government’s One Delhi mobile application, said the minister.

“Each location will have a total of six charging points -- three for two- and three-wheelers, and three for four-wheelers. Once installed, these locations, the real-time availability of charging points will also be shown on the One Delhi mobile app of the Delhi government,” said Gahlot.

Further, CESL will, wherever feasible, integrate solar rooftops and connect it to battery storage systems (BSS), thereby using renewable energy to power the charging stations, he said.

If the space required by the concessionaire is more than three ECS (equivalent car space), then DTC will levy a further ₹2,000 extra per ECS per month.

CESL will start work immediately and set up the charging stations in four months, the government later said in a statement.

On August 7, 2020, the AAP government notified the Delhi EV Policy 2020 -- unveiled in December 2019 by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal -- with an aim to reduce air pollution and to kickstart the economy by spurring demand. It envisages that 25% of all new vehicle registrations should be battery electric vehicles (BEVs) by 2024. The policy offers subsidies, and road tax and registration free waivers, for electric vehicles bought in the Capital.