BENGALURU: In order to encourage increased use of electric vehicles, BESCOM will soon start an awareness campaign advertising the new rates for electric vehicle charging stations fixed by Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC). The rates, which work out to `4.85 per unit for the company operating the charging station, were fixed in May.
In the past few months, several privately-owned EV charging points have cropped up around the city. This has been made possible by the special tariff announced by the KERC. However, users still say that the penetration of these charging points, in the outskirts of the city as well as on the highways, needs to be far higher to instil confidence to opt for electric vehicles.
To achieve this goal, BESCOM is also planning a network of 11 charging points for Bengaluru in addition to around 129 more being planned by other agencies like the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and Namma Metro. The special rates, which are significantly lower than the earlier rates of around `8 per unit, will help fuel the move towards electric vehicles, the company is hoping.
Shortly after the announcement of new tariffs, Ather Energy, a startup, announced the creation of AtherGrid, a network of 60 charging points in the city, making it possible to find a charging point every 4 km. This network will be in place by the end of the year according to the company making it more feasible to invest in an electric vehicle.
In 2017-18, only 1,400 new electric vehicles were sold in Karnataka of which 250 are electric cars, according to the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles.
“There is a serious lack of options for people looking to buy electric vehicles. Even if one were to choose from the limited models available, it is scary to imagine a car running out of charge. For a two-wheeler, you can still push it to a safe place. Not many people know about the subsidies or the costs involved,” manager of a dealership that sells electric two wheelers said.