Government Issues Revised Guidelines For Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

The Ministry of New and Renewable Resources RK Singh has approved the revised set of guidelines with regard to electric vehicle charging in India. The Union Minister said that the revised guidelines will address the concerns of EV owners and are aimed to encourage developing an ecosystem for charging EVs in a phased manner. The new guidelines replace the ones that were first issued in December last year and were made taking into consideration suggestions from the industry and EV charging manufacturers. The amendments suggest that there needs to be at least one charging station for every three sq.km. in cities, one station for every 25 km on both sides of the roads and highways.

Under the new guidelines, the charging infrastructure will be set-up in a phased manner. All megacities and expressways connected to the megacities will be covered under the first phase that will be set-up in a period of 1-3 years; while other cities big cities will be covered under the second phase in the next 3-5 years. The guidelines further state that fast-charging stations will be installed at every 100 km with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) nominated as the central nodal agency to facilitate installation of charging infrastructure.

In addition, the ministry said that it assumes most of the charging for EVs will take place at homes and offices, where the decision to use fast or slow charging will rest with the consumer. The guidelines further state that private charging at offices and residences shall be permitted and distribution companies (DISCOMs) shall facilitate the same. It also clarifies that the domestic charging shall be akin to domestic consumption of electricity and shall be charged as such.

Meanwhile, public charging stations (PCS) shall be a de-licensed activity and any individual or entity is free to set up stations. The amendments also maintain that PCS owners have the freedom to install chargers of different standards (CCS, CHAdeMO, Type-2 AC, Bharat AC 001), depending on market requirement, in a bid to extend flexibility. In order to keep the technology unbiased, PCS and individual owners are free to install any fast/slow/moderate charger as per approved DST/BIS standards. The tariff for PCS will be determined by the appropriate commission in accordance with the tariff policy issued under section 3 of the Electricity Act, 2003.

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency has been nominated as the central nodal agency, while the guidelines have a provision for state-based nodal agencies as well. The nodal agencies will act as facilitators in the installation of charging infrastructure for EVs throughout India. The legislating agencies will also be responsible for fixing the tariff and to ensure that the EV owners receive the benefits of incentives provided to public charging stations. An appropriate agency or commission shall fix the ceiling of service charges in such cases, under the guidelines.