BENGALURU: Soon, charging electric vehicles (EVs) and payments for charging them in apartment complexes will be streamlined. The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KRC) is coming up with a standard set of operating procedures and rules to be followed by all apartment complexes to set up charging units.
Now, different methods are being adopted for charging EVs and payments. In some apartments, a vehicle owner directly installs a charging unit in his parking space and is billed individually. But in others, the charging unit is in a common area and the cost is borne by the apartment association.
KERC Chairman P Ravi Kumar told TNIE that the order will include the method to be followed for installing EV charging stations and payments. The order will also have a section to allow a third party to set up EV charging points and make a business out of it.
Members of various apartment associations, including the Bengaluru Apartment Federation, had expressed their concerns on EV charging units and methods during public consultation meetings organised by KERC before announcing the power tariff order in April 2024.
Federation president Vikram Rai said that though the installation of EV charging points at new apartment complexes was made mandatory from 2019, little has been done so far. There is conflict between owners and associations on installing such units. The Federation recommended community-based units and also the involvement of Bescom and Electrical Inspectorate in setting up such units.
Rai said retrofitting charging units in apartment complexes is a challenge and the process needs to be streamlined which needs to be addressed by KERC.
As of now, apartment complexes have very few charging stations, he said. The new order will list the method and steps to follow in installing charging units, including solar and electricity-enabled methods. This is the first time that such an order is being announced.
Directions will also be issued for setting up charging units in commercial establishments.