Bengal would have almost 850 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along state and national highways by the end of 2024 to ensure vehicles’ batteries never ran out of charge, said Bengal power secretary S Suresh Kumar, allaying fears among motorists that they might be left without charge in the middle of a dark and deserted highway. Range anxiety is the primary reason why many vehicle buyers are hesitant about switching to EVs.
“We will set up 849 EV charging stations along the highway network of the state, with one station being planned every 25km on four-lane highways and one within a 3 sqkm area. This will eliminate people’s anxiety about batteries running out of charge and will ensure drive growth in EVs. We hope to cross the target and install 1,000 charging stations in the next two years,” said Kumar ahead of the 16th EV Expo, 2022, slated to be held from December 9 to 11 at Biswa Bangla Mela ground.
“For developing the charging infrastructure, we need to stabilise the grid by installing multiple transformers. We are currently doing that,” Kumar added. West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) is the nodal agency for charging infrastructure for EV, guidelines and standards.
Encouraging the use of the environment-friendly mode of transport, Kumar said EVs reduced the operation cost by about 60% of that of diesel vehicles. EVs also had significantly lower maintenance cost he said, adding that Section 80EEB also allowed a deduction of Rs1.5 lakh towards the individual consumer for interest paid on loan for EV purchase. EV batteries converted 59%-62% of energy into vehicle movement, while the figure for petrol was 17%-21%, he added.
In the city, KMC has earmarked space to install charging stations for EVs at parking lots. “The idea is to charge car or two-wheeler batteries while being parked. We are working in coordination with the power and transport departments to develop EV charging infrastructure across the city,” said Somnath Dey, special commissioner, KMC
The three-day EV expo will showcase the latest and technologically advanced, pollution-free, two- three- and 4-wheel e-vehicles, parts and accessories, charging solutions, and technology from around 100 exhibitors. “This event will coincide with the state government’s E-Mobility Week, which will go on till Sunday,” said Rajiv Arora, organiser of the EV Expo.
The government, in association with the EV Expo, will also hold a rally with electric vehicles on Saturday. To be flagged off from Biswa Bangla Mela ground, the vehicles will travel through the city, down Park Street, Queens Road and Prinsep Ghat before returning to the fair ground. The aim was to promote awareness about electric vehicles, clear doubts in people’s mind about their range and encourage buyers to adopt and use electric vehicles, an official said. The rally organizers are also aiming to make a mark in two categories in the Limca Book of Records. One would be for the maximum number of electrical vehicles running together in India and the other would be for the maximum number of people travelling together by electric vehicles in India, said Electric Vehicle Federation president Anuj Sharma.
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Replying to a separate question, Gadkari said with implementation of the electronic fee collection system, traffic congestion at fee plazas at highways has been reduced significantly.