KOZHIKODE: You have a smartphone that has a USB-C charging port. However, all you can find are old cables that are not, as the colloquial lingo goes, C-type. Electric vehicle (EV) owners in Kerala are facing an identical situation when it comes to charging their vehicles.
The Renewable Energy and Energy Savings (REES) wing of the KSEB is busy installing charging stations across the state to let EV owners charge their vehicles at highly affordable costs. There is just one huge problem.
Almost 70% of the connectors in the 62 charging stations that the KSEB is setting up across the state are useless, as, according to KSEB data, they do not have the connector supported by most of the EVs in the state.
To put it technically, a majority of the connectors KSEB is installing are the GB/T connector, or the Bharat stage 2 chargers. However, most EVs today support the Combined Charging System (CCS2). See how it will be a problem?
“KSEB is installing charging stations across Kerala, under state and central schemes. KSEB has tasked Tirex Transmission Pvt Ltd with installing the charging stations. However, a majority of the chargers will be futile, as KSEB is still using Bharat stage 2 connector instead of CCS2,” said a top KSEB official who did not wish to be named.
“Of the four charging units at Gandhi Park in Kozhikode, just one has a CCS2 connector. All five connectors at Kuttikkattoor in the district are GB/T,” said the official.
On June 9, EV owners under the aegis of Tata EV Owners Kerala (TEVO) had staged a protest at the then newly-built KSEB charging station at Puthuppadi in Kozhikode, highlighting that the connectors there were not CCS2.
“No vehicle, including KSEB’s, that arrived for the station’s inauguration could be charged there. Almost every EV in India today supports the CCS2 connector. KSEB is planning to install 246 DC fast chargers at 62 charging stations across Kerala, but with connectors that cannot be used by any of the EVs. Of these 246 fast chargers, 70% cannot be used by any vehicles today or in the future,” said TEVO representative Rajul.
Only a few old cars like the Mahindra E-Verito, E2O, old Tata-Electra-Tigor-EV that are no longer in market today use the GB/T, said Rajul.“When we contacted KSEB to enquire about this, they said they were doing it as per Central criteria for getting subsidy. However, the 2018 central standard that the KSEB cited was revised in 2019.
The old standard required a charging station to have every type of connector. However, the revised norms say any number of connectors can be used to avail subsidy,” he said.
Rajul said of the 62 charging stations being set up by KSEB, six were built in 2020 as per old norms.
“However, the tender for building the remaining 56 was floated after the revised norms came out in 2020. Despite having the time to study the automotive market and find out which connector is mostly used, KSEB failed to do it. Also, major automakers like Tata, Mahindra, Hyundai, and MG, which announced EVs in 2019-20, have all announced that they will use CCS2 port,” Rajul said.