Recurring power cuts across Kerala are disrupting the daily lives of many, but for electric autorickshaw drivers, the outages come with a direct financial cost; every hour without power means more time spent charging their vehicles and less time on the road transporting passengers.

Suresh, a native of Valarkkavu, bought an electric autorickshaw a year ago due to the rising cost of petrol. "It has been profitable so far, until the challenges created by the power cuts," Suresh told Onmanorama. He said the vehicle takes about five hours to fully charge using the slow-charging method. According to him, the company provides a five-year battery guarantee if the vehicle is charged slowly, while no such guarantee is given for fast charging.

Suresh said he has had to decline several customers who call him for rides after 7 pm. "Now I start charging at 7 pm, and it takes around five hours to get a full charge. If the power goes out while the vehicle is charging, it affects the battery. It is especially difficult when we have to make long-distance trips. We cannot manage with just two hours of charge, as we would then have to find another charging point on the way. And if there is no power there either, we have no choice but to wait," he said.

Jinu from Panamukku, who bought his first autorickshaw a couple of months ago for ₹3.60 lakh, said he charges his vehicle after 10 pm. "I keep it charging overnight. When the power goes off, the charging stops, and it resumes once the power comes back. This can affect the battery, and voltage fluctuations are a major concern, but we have no other option. Stabilisers are now being recommended to address this issue, but that comes at a financial cost as well. Charging the vehicle during the day means losing valuable running time when we could otherwise be on the road earning money," he said.

However, Jinu said owning an electric autorickshaw has been financially profitable so far. "The electricity bill for two months was ₹8,500, which is less than the amount we would spend on petrol, considering that we spend at least ₹800 a day on fuel. Those who have the provision and can afford solar power can bring their electricity bill down to a much lower amount," he said.

For low-income drivers, however, installing solar power is not always an option. "My house does not have a concrete roof. It has an old tiled roof, so it is more difficult to install solar panels," Suresh said.

Despite advocating for electric vehicles, autorickshaw drivers also face vehicle-related issues that, at times, even the company is unable to resolve, said Gopinath, a native of Vadanappally who operates his autorickshaw in Thrissur town.

Due to the recurring power cuts, Gopinath has also been forced to charge his vehicle during the morning, further reducing the time he can spend on the road.

Priya Pillai, Chief of Strategic Alliance at Asar Social Impact Advisers, said that while there are questions about immediate solutions to the problem, a community-level battery energy storage system could be developed in the long term at the panchayat, municipality or corporation level to address the issue.

Under such a model, establishing a common charging facility would be more cost-effective for a panchayat than having individual users draw power for charging at their homes, she said.

Meanwhile, Stanlin, the manager of the Punkunnam showroom of Montra Electric, Kalyan EV Thrissur, told Onmanorama that the company had not received any complaints of battery issues caused by power cuts so far. "However, voltage fluctuations are a cause for concern. We have received complaints of charging posts being damaged due to short circuits, and we have recommended stabilisers to manage voltage fluctuations. The total cost of the autorickshaw and stabiliser combined would be around ₹4.12 lakh," he said.

Rickshaw drivers, however, said there are additional expenses involved in getting a wire connection for the charging post, as well as maintenance costs and expenses incurred in addressing problems that arise with the vehicles.