Electric Vehicles likely to hit city roads soon
Lack of charging points, low speed, high cost are some of the problem areas
The much-awaited Electric Vehicles (EVs) are likely to hit the roads in Andhra Pradesh soon with the State government deciding to extend incentives to consumers, charging infrastructure and vehicle manufacturers at the State Cabinet meeting last month.
There are a few electric two-wheelers moving on the roads in Visakhapatnam.. Though both the Central and State governments are keen on promoting the use of electric cars and motorcycles to minimise the growing vehicular pollution in cities, the proposal seems to be an uphill task with lack of infrastructure like lack of charging points, the long waiting time required to get the battery fully recharged, the comparatively low speed and higher cost of EVs.
A ‘charging station’ has to be set up at every 250 km on the National Highways as per the policy of the Union government but there is no action on the ground so far. The objectives of the Centre are to save precious foreign exchange by minimising oil imports and to prevent vehicular pollution.
Nodal agency
The State government has asked the municipalities to initiate steps for setting up of charging points at select locations. The New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) was asked to act as the nodal agency for implementation of the electric mobility project in AP.
“There is no need for registration of two-wheelers up to 2.5 kw as they move at low speed of 25 km/hr. However, registration of electric cars is compulsory. The government has given electric cars to District Collectors to promote their usage and create awareness among the public,” says Deputy Transport Commissioner S. Venkateswara Rao.
“The prospect of waiting at charging stations for hours on end can be avoided by service providers taking discharged batteries from customers and giving them already fully charged batteries as is done in Scandinavian countries. India can take a cue from these countries to avoid teething problems as the project is only in the initial stages in our country,” he says.
“The State Cabinet has taken a decision on the EV policy and we expect that a G.O. would be released in the next few weeks in this regard. Once the G.O. is released, the modalities of promoting the use of EVs would be worked out,” Project Director (EVs) J. Bhanu Prakash told The Hindu.
Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) AP State Energy Conservation Commission Mission CEO A. Chandrasekhar Reddy says: “The plan is to introduce 500 EVs in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati in the first phase. The Discoms (distribution companies) are ready to provide power to the charging stations.”
Four charging points were set up at the EPDCL corporate office at Seetammadhara and EPDCL and SPDCL have proposed to open 50 charging stations in the State.
Source: thehindu
