Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram to get more e-vehicle charging stations
Giving more confidence to electric vehicle owners and those mulling over shifting to electric vehicles, the city will be getting four more e-vehicle charging stations.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Giving more confidence to electric vehicle owners and those mulling over shifting to electric vehicles, the city will be getting four more e-vehicle charging stations. The new charging stations will be inaugurated by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday.
Out of the four e-vehicle charging stations, three are being set up by Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT) and one by Kerala state electricity board (KSEB). The works in this regard are being carried out in association with Energy Efficiency Services Ltd under the Union government.
The charging stations by ANERT are coming up outside ANERT headquarters at PMG here, Thycaud Government Guest House and Shangumugham Beach Road. The charging station by KSEB is coming up at Nemom.
ANERT officials said that out of the three charging stations they are setting up, the one outside ANERT headquarters is a solar-powered one. They have plans to convert the stations at Shangumugham and Thycaud too into solar-powered stations in the future.
ANERT stations have two types of charging units, a 15KW charging point and a combo charging point with two 60KW charging points and a 22 KW charging point.
“Electric cars that are currently available in the market can be charged from these charging points. Cars such as Tata Tigor and Mahindra E Verito can be charged from the 15KW charging point and bigger cars like Hyundai Kona, Tata Nexon and MG ZS can be charged from the combo charging point,” said an official of ANERT. The charging stations have the power to charge the batteries of vehicles up to 80% within 20 minutes.
The official also said that the charging station outside ANERT headquarters can also be used to charge e-rickshaws. None of the charging stations have the option to charge electric two-wheelers.
The government has already announced that the service of these EV charging stations will be free for the first three months.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan will be inaugurating the EV charging stations on Saturday at 3pm. Besides the EV charging stations in the capital city, similar stations at Kochi Marine Drive, Olayil, Palarivattom, Viyyur, Nallalam and Chovvawilla will also be inaugurated on Saturday. While the EV charging station at Kochi Marine Drive is also being set up by ANERT, the others are installed by KSEB.
A fleet of 50 new EVs for government will also be flagged off during the occasion. Finance minister Thomas Issac will inaugurate the distribution of LED bulbs under ‘Filament-Free Kerala’ initiative. Ports minister Kadannappally Ramachandran will launch the solar subsidy scheme.
Source : economictimes
