Indian Government Announces Revised EV Charging Guidelines

In order to support the rise of electrification of India, the government is taking initiatives in setting up infrastructure for it. As a part of the action, the government of India in order to help further in setting up the charging stations has announced revised guidelines that will help in addressing the concerns of an Electric Vehicle (EV) owner. The announcement was issued by the Union Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy (IC) and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, RK Singh.

The ministry has notified that the new implemented guidelines and specifications may replace the previously existing guidelines and standards that were issued by the Ministry of Power on December 14, 2018. Union Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy (IC) and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, RK Singh assured in his statement that the revised guidelines are more consumer-friendly as compared to the previous ones as they incorporate a number of suggestions received from various stakeholders. “We have tried to address the concerns of EV owners in new guidelines.”

According to government goals, it aims to have at least one charging station to be available in every 3 sq km grid in cities in addition to a charging station every 25km on both sides of intra-city highways. The government’s first target is the major cities and also the expressways that are connected to these cities whereas all the other cities have been included in the second phase of the initiative. In the case of intercity travels, the government is planning to install a charging station every 100 km.

All these plans will be implemented by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) as a Central nodal agency to help in the installation of charging infrastructure. The decision to use fast or a slow charging point will rest with the consumer and it will also permit private charging at home and offices, which will be facilitated by the distribution companies. It is interesting to note that the Public Charging Stations (PCS) will be a de-licensed activity and anybody will be free to set up a free charging station under the conditions specified in the guidelines.

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