BPCL has converted 21 highways into electric corridors in total and aims to cover 200 highways with EV fast chargers by month-end
One of the leading integrated energy companies in India, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) recently announced the launch of 19 EV fast-charging stations at 110 fuel stations along 15 highways in three southern states of India. As per the official communication, the company has launched 3 corridors with 19 fuel stations in Kerala, 6 with 33 fuel stations in Karnataka and 10 with 58 fuel stations in Tamil Nadu. Installing 30 KW fast charging stations, BPCL said that the corridors have been created to remove the range anxiety of electric vehicle owners, driving long distances.
As per BPCL, these corridors will connect pilgrimage and tourist destinations with other cities, like Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh & Bandipur National Park in Karnataka. Ranaganthaswamy Temple, Jambukeswar Temple, Guruvayoor temple and Kadampuzha temple, Vallarpadam National shrine of Basilica, St.Antony’s Church, Koratty and Markaz Knowledge City & Early Sunrise watch at Kanyakumari and Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, are also covered among many more locations.
Notably, these fast EV charging corridors were inaugurated by P.S. Ravi, Executive Director Incharge (Retail) in presence of Pushp Kumar Nayar, Head of Retail South, Kannabiran D., State Head (Retail) Kerala, Subhankar Sen, Chief General Manager (Retail Initiative & Brand) at Ernakulam, Kerala.
Mr Ravi remarked: “The fast chargers are easy to use. They can be self-operated without any manual assistance through support staff will be available if needed. BPCL has digitized the entire EV charger locator, charger operations and transaction process through the HelloBPCL app for an online hassle-free and transparent user experience.”
Pushp Kumar Nayar, Head Retail South commented, “It takes just 30 minutes to charge an EV, giving the driving range of up to 125 kilometres at our fuel stations, therefore we have maintained the distance within 100 kilometres between the two charging stations.”
It is noteworthy that to date, BPCL has converted 21 highways into electric corridors. For faster EV growth in India, the Maharatna company plans to cover 200 highways with EV fast chargers across the country by March 2023.
Considered the second largest Indian oil marketing company, Bharat Petroleum has attained the coveted Maharatna status as it is a leading integrated energy company in India, engaged in refining of crude oil and marketing of petroleum products, with a major presence in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry. As per the company, its refineries at Mumbai & Kochi and Bina in Madhya Pradesh have a combined refining capacity of around 35.3 MMTPA.
