Electric Vehicle Charging Won't Be Free In Kerala Anymore

The electric vehicle market in India still is in a very nascent stage and the shift towards it being considered as mainstream mobility is farfetched yet. So at a time where centre and states are considering subsidising e-mobility, EV owners coming to charging stations in Kerala will soon have to pay for charging their vehicles. Free charging at the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) charging stations will come to an end in two weeks and it will cost the EV owners Rs. 15 per unit. According to reports, Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission has given directions to KSEB in this regard.

Charging stations in Thrissur and Kozhikode reported higher energy consumption.

Officials at the board said that customers could charge EVs free of cost on a pilot basis for three months and it was planned to collect payments after that. But it got delayed due to glitches in the app 'Electrify' which allows the customer to identify the place of charging station, book slot and charge the vehicle and pay the amount digitally. Charging stations in Thrissur and Kozhikode reported higher energy consumption and the one in Thiruvananthapuram reported less consumption. The regulatory commission has created LT10, a tariff category applicable only for energy consumption at EV stations.

The construction of 25 EV charging stations under the board is going on in various districts.

The current rate fixed by the commission levies a charge of Rs. 5 per unit besides fixed charge, service charge and GST adding up to around Rs 15 per unit. When new charging stations become operational, new mobile apps will be developed with more features and KSEB will create a common platform. The construction of 25 EV charging stations under the board is going on in various districts. The state has witnessed a jump in registration of EVs of late. 3,313 EVs were registered in the state till August 16 this year as compared to 1,324 registrations last year. The highest number of EV registrations were recorded in April and July this year with 631 and 668 units, respectively. Subsiding charging cost could help the state to build up this momentum.

Source: ET Auto