The government proposes to set up charging stations for electric vehicles every three kilometres in cities with million-plus population and smart cities, and every 50 km on busy national highways, as reported by ETEnergyworld.
It is likely to offer fiscal incentives and facilitate land from municipal authorities for those interested in setting up the infrastructure, which is a key requirement for the proliferation of electric vehicles.
According to the report, a senior government official said that it is expected that 30,000 slowcharging and 15,000 fast-charging stations will be required to be put up in a phase-wise manner in the next 3-5 years. There should be at least two high-charge points and one fast-charging point at every three kilometres in cities. Similarly, there should be electric vehicle charging station every 50 km on highways.
Land for setting up the charging stations is likely to be identified in consultation with local authorities and electricity distribution utilities and given on long-term lease to companies willing to set up the facilities, another government official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Public sector undertakings in the energy sector such as NTPC, Power Grid Corp and Indian Oil Corp are likely to initiate the process to set up charging stations at several locations in identified cities. The government is considering to provide subsidies to the PSUs for the roll out programme, the official said.
NTPC is already setting up such facilities in Maharashtra. Power Grid Corp last week said it signed an agreement with L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Ltd for developing charging infrastructure at metro stations for e-cars and ethree wheelers in Hyderabad.
The company said it plans to build charging infrastructure at all metro rail corridors.
Automakers including Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors to cab-hailing companies Ola and Uber, state-run enterprises and startups are all interested in setting up charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
