Hyderabad: State government plans charging points for e-vehicles

Hyderabad: In order to encourage the use of electric vehicles, the state government has decided to identify suitable locations to set up electrical charging points across the city.

The government has asked the nodal agencies to target locations near malls, multiplexes, stadiums, convention centres, function halls and offices. The idea is to charge the vehicle while you work, shop, or watch a movie.

The state government is also contemplating giving more incentives to vehicle manufacturers, dealers, and battery manufacturers of electric vehicles. The government has also decided to install charging stations which support DC adapter chargers that can charge vehicles from 0 to 100 in one-and-a-half hours as AC adapter chargers take six hours for a full charge

According to highly placed sources, the price of battery-run four-wheeler vehicles vary from Rs 11 lakh to Rs 25 lakh depending on the brand and manufacturer. Companies in Telangana have been manufacturing four-wheelers for Rs 11 lakh. The Centre provides a subsidy of Rs 3 lakh (Rs 1.5 lakh for two wheelers).

For manufacturers and dealers, the state government is planning 12 per cent subsidy, conditional reimbursement of stamp duty and GST and cancelling registration charges. Special incentives will be given for setting up charging stations which support DC adapter chargers as the cost of each point would be about Rs 5 lakh.

The government is aiming at sale of 12 lakh to 15 lakh e-vehicles and 2,500 charging stations by 2024 across the state, specifically in Hyderabad.

A senior official working in the IT department said the government had  instructed municipal corporations to identify locations for the charging stations prior to the release of the e-vehicle policy. He said that the government has instructed the GHMC to focus on multiplexes, malls, offices at IT corridors, gated communities, bus stations, Metro stations, MMTS stations and government offices specifically due to the availability of parking space and with the charge while you work, shop, travel or watch a movie concept.
The official further said that e-vehicle policy will be declared after May 23, when the Lok Sabha elections results are out and the model code of conduct ends.

The policy will fall under the Electricity Act 2003, which stipulates that a licence is needed for transmission and distribution of, or trading in, electricity at a charging station. In the case of two-wheelers, it is proposed to have batteries which can be swapped at charging stations, instead of spending time charging them..

The official said more than 10 companies have already expressed their readiness to invest in Telangana to manufacture 20 KV and 30 KV four wheelers and once the policy is out, it will also address last mile connectivity issues eventually apart from curbing noise and air pollution.