KOCHI: As the state gets ready to welcome more electric cars and the government promoting eco-friendly initiatives, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is planning to open 70 e-charging stations across the state. The board plans to launch six stations in the initial phase -- in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kannur.
The government has appointed KSEB as the nodal office for setting up the charging stations. These will be set up at KSEB substations along the national and state highways. In Kochi, the board plans to open the charging station at Kaloor substation. The other charging stations will be at Nemom electrical section office (Thiruvananthapuram), Olayil section office (Kollam), Viyyur substation (Thrissur), Nallalam substation (Kozhikode) and Chovva substation (Kannur).
“The tendering process is under way and we are getting a lot of applications from agencies to set up the stations. The agencies should meet the technical parameters put forward by the board and financial proposals will be invited from them. The agency which quotes the lowest rate will be given the letter of award (LOA),” said N S Pillai, chairman and managing director, KSEB.
Private stations
The highlight of the initiative is that private parties have the option to set up charging stations and KSEB will supply electricity at the rate of Rs 5 per unit as directed by the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC). “They need to apply for a commercial connection for starting the station. The board will then monitor the availability of a transformer near the station, its capacity, transmission line and distribution line,” added Pillai.
The rates to be charged by private stations from customers have not been fixed yet. “That’s the only drawback. We can’t decide on the rates. The capital investment of setting up a charging station will differ according to the terrain. The rates will be decided based on their setup and operational costs,” he says.
More stations
In total, 70 charging stations will be set up across the 14 districts. While six stations will be set up in the initial phase, the remaining stations will be launched only after reviewing the operations of these. “There are only a few electric cars in Kerala now. That’s why we plan to start with six now,” said a KSEB official.
Setting up a station is estimated to cost D15-20 lakh. According to Pillai, with fossil fuels getting depleted and to reduce air pollution, people will start using electric cars more in the future. “One of the main issues is that electric vehicles are expensive and there are only a a few charging stations now. Hence, charging the vehicle is not as easy as refilling fuel. Soon, these issues will be resolved and in 10 years, Kerala roads will have more electric cars.”
First station
The state’s first electric vehicle charging station was opened at Indian Oil Corporation’s retail outlet United Fuels at Edappally in June. The vehicles can still charge free of cost at this station. According to an IOC official, there are 11 electric cars registered in Kochi. On average, around two-three cars come to the outlet daily for charging. “By March 31 next year, we are planning to open 25 charging stations across Kerala,” said an IOC official.