CEA to cap service charges levied by states for EV charging stations: Power ministry

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The government has asked the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to fix a ceiling limit on the service charges that is levied by state governments for public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, the ministry of power said on November 7.

The ministry said in a statement said it has made two additions to the “Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles (EV)- the revised consolidated Guidelines & Standards”. Both the rules are about service charges and its related rebates.

“A committee under CEA will periodically recommend to the state government the ceiling limit of service charges to be levied… This committee shall also recommend the ‘time of the day rate’ for service charges as well as the discount to be given for charging during solar hours,” read the amendment issued by the power ministry.

The move is likely to expedite the pace of setting up EV charging stations across the country as several firms had raised the issue of high service charges levied by some states, which acted as a deterrent to both the consumers and the companies setting up such infrastructure.

A service charge is levied on EV charging through a public charging station (PCS) because electricity for the same is provided at a concessional rate and in most cases it is provided by the state or central governments.

In the second amendment, the government has introduced a new feature of “prepaid collection” of the service charge. “The public charging stations shall have the feature of prepaid collection of service charges with the time of the day rates and discount for solar hours,” it stated.

On January 14 this year, the power ministry issued the revised guidelines for EV charging infrastructure. Through that amended, the government allowed owners to charge their EVs using the existing electricity connections in their homes or offices. The government also allowed allotment of government land to private entities through bidding for setting up PCS.

The government plans to roll out PCS on a large scale in two phases - 1) All mega cities with a population of above 4 million as per the census 2011, all existing expressways  and important highways connected to these mega cities; 2) Big cities such as state capitals, union territory headquarters and important highways connected with  these cities.

The guidelines are important because by 2030, India has set a target of 30 percent EV sales penetration for private cars, 70 percent for commercial vehicles, 40 percent for buses and 80 percent for two- and three-wheelers. At present, only about a dozen e-car variants cost below Rs 15 lakh in the country. The cost of two-wheelers and three-wheelers have already almost come at par with the existing petrol after factoring in the subsidies. Apart from the high cost of EVs, a major cause for the sluggish sale of EVs in the country, other than Delhi, has been the lack of charging infrastructure.