Charge and whizz away! Bengaluru to get 12 electric vehicle charging stations soon

Bengaluru: Bengaluru city will see the opening of around 12 new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations by the end of August. These stations are in Direct Current (DC) mode, which will help in charging vehicles much faster when compared to the Alternate Current (AC) mode charging stations. The pricing for charging at these stations is being finalised.

According to a source in Bescom, the Karnataka Electric Regulatory Commission (KERC) has fixed the rate for charging at Rs 5 per unit, which will be paid by the operators of the station to Bescom. However, the source said with the price being finalised, the proposal has been sent to the senior authorities for approval.

The final price that is to be paid by the consumer is yet to be fixed, which will be decided before the inauguration.

A senior official from Bescom said the setting up of charging stations will not take much time but the hurdle is in finding the location.

“The charging units are compact and are wall mounted. Now, the work has been almost completed and is all set to be opened by the end of August. The new stations are in DC mode which can charge a four-wheeler vehicle in 90 minutes, compared to the normal charging stations which are in Alternate Current (AC) mode”, he said.

The official said for now the charging stations will be set up in Vidhana Soudha, Bescom Corporate Head office, Bescom offices in Banaswadi, Domlur, Mathikere and Murgeshpalya among other places.

The Bescom is yet to decide if the charging stations will be kept open for 24 hours. “We are still thinking if we can keep the charging stations accessible 24 hours for the public, but it depends on the security provided in the premises. We cannot leave an expensive system unguarded,” said another official.

Simultaneously, the Bescom is also working on a mobile phone application, which can help in locating these charging stations without any hassle. The app is still being developed and is expected to be made public in a
month’s time.