Tariff fixed for electric vehicle charging stations
CHANDIGARH: For the first time, the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) has fixed tariff plan for electric vehicle charging stations in the city.
Recently, the UT electricity department, in its power tariff petition, had proposed a tariff plan for such stations, which the administration plans to set up in different parts of the city.
In its latest order, the regulatory commission has fixed Rs 4 per unit and Rs 100 as a fixed monthly charge on electricity bill for the charging stations. Earlier, the UT electricity department had proposed Rs 5 per unit in the slab of 0-150 units; Rs 5.30 and Rs 5.60 per unit for 151-400 units and above 400 units, respectively. However, the commission did not fix slab-wise tariff and rather went in for a fixed Rs 4 per unit.
The Central government has already framed a National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, which aims at promoting hybrid and electric vehicles in the country. The UT administration is working on promoting such vehicles. Two years ago, a team of the transport department had visited Nagpur, which was the first city in the country to have vehicle charging stations, to study the set-up.
Chandigarh has the highest vehicle density in India, with around 12-lakh registered automobiles. The number of vehicles per house on an average is two and this has led to a sharp deterioration of the air quality. To cut down pollution level, the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) will induct electric buses in its fleet. The ministry of urban development has given a green signal to CTU to purchase 20 buses in the first phase. One bus will cost around Rs 5 crore and the Central government has agreed to fund 60% of the cost. At present, around 3,000 e-rickshaws are plying the city.
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First charging station at Sec 42 lake
The UT administration plans to set up city’s first charging station at Sector 42 lake. As per the plan, the Chandigarh Renewal Energy, Science and Technology Promotion Society (Crest) will install 800KW solar plant at the site, of which the UT administration will use 90 KW for the charging station. Crest is the nodal agency for installing solar plants in Chandigarh. The project will then be replicated in markets of sectors 15, 17 and 19. The 90KW charging station can charge around 65 cars in a day.
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Proposal was rejected last year
Last year, the JERC had turned down UT’s power tariff proposal for vehicle charging stations. The proposed rates were higher than the prevailing charges in other categories, which included domestic, commercial, small supply, medium and large supply.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes
