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Oil firms to set up 22k EV charging stations, says power ministry
The number of public charging stations has grown by 2.5 times in a little over a year in nine major cities with a population of over 4 million each, albeit on a low base, according to the ministry.
State-owned oil marketing companies have promised to install at least 22,000 charging stations for electric vehicles in prominent cities and on national highways across the country within the next one year, the power ministry said on Saturday, as India looks to bolster charging infrastructure to promote eco-friendly transportation.
The number of public charging stations has grown by 2.5 times in a little over a year in nine major cities with a population of over 4 million each, albeit on a low base, according to the ministry. These include Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Surat, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
“The aggressive efforts undertaken by the government through various implementing agencies have resulted in rapid growth in the deployment of public EV charging infrastructure. There has been an additional installation of 678 public EV charging stations between October 2021 to January 2022 in these nine cities, which is about 2.5 times of the earlier numbers during the same period,” the ministry said in a statement.
India has 101,0021 registered electric vehicles, but there are only 1,640 public charging stations, according to transport ministry data. Out of these, the nine big cities account for some 940 stations. A lack of adequate charging infrastructure hampers the fast adoption of electric vehicles.
To circumvent this, the government allowed owners to charge their vehicles using power connections at home or office from January 15. It also allowed the allotment of government land to private entities through bidding for setting up public charging stations.
Responding to the revised rules, oil marketers have come forward to set up a total of 22,000 charging stations. The Indian Oil Corporation will set up 10,000 stations, Bharat Petroleum will install 7,000, and Hindustan Petroleum will set up 5,000 stations, the power ministry said.
Indian Oil has already installed 439 charging stations and will set up another 2,000 in the next year, the ministry said. Many private organisations are also interested in installing charging stations, it said.
India wants 80% of all two-wheelers and 30% of all private cars to run on electricity by 2030. The country also seeks to electrify 70% of all commercial vehicles and 40% of buses by the end of this decade.
At present, only about 4-5 variants of electric cars cost below ₹15 lakh. However, the price of two-wheelers and three-wheelers are already almost at par with those that run on internal combustion engines, after factoring in subsidies.
