HYDERABAD: The State government in a bid to encourage the use and purchase of electrical motor vehicles is providing subsidised power tariff to Indian Oil for setting up charging stations across the city.Government also plans to join hands with a firm, RacENERGY, to initiate a battery swapping system in local kirana stores for autorickshaws at subsidised rates.
Speaking to Express, IT and Industries Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said, “Indian Oil is planning to set up charging stations for electric motor vehicles across the State, as they already have the infrastructure. The State government will provide them with subsidised tariffs for electricity. Meanwhile, we are also tying up with a firm called RacENERGY, that will provide a battery swapping system which will be beneficial for autorickshaw drivers. They will be able to locate the nearest grocery store via an app where they would be able to swap a used battery for a fully charged one.” The Telangana government recently launched the ‘Telangana Electric Vehicle & Energy Storage Policy’ with a vision to make the State a hub for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESS).
The policy aims to attract private investments worth $4 billion in the EV sector and create employment for 1,20,000 people by 2030 through shared mobility, charging infrastructure development, and manufacturing activities.
Cab drivers seem to be picking up on the trend of electric vehicles. An uber driver, G Gopagani, told Express, “I am very happy with my decision to shift to an electronic car. Though the price is much higher than a diesel variant, I end up saving close to 13 litres of fuel on a daily basis. Apart from that because of the policies in place, I received a subsidy on the vehicle registration tax and road tax. I also have to charge only twice a day, and spend `250 on a fully charged battery. In addition to that increase in number of charging points has made it easier to travel longer distances.”