Thiruvananthapuram: Hereafter, motorists using electric vehicles (EVs) need to pay for charging the batteries at the six charging stations run by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) Limited.
The facility, initially offered for three months, was part of the government's policy to encourage the use of EVs. Considering the COVID-19 situation, the free offer was extended to another eight months.
The discom is now charging Rs 15 a unit for recharging EVs from Tuesday night. KSEB has six charging stations across the State and they are located within the limits of municipal corporations.
In a major policy shift, the KSEB recently decided to allow private persons to start charging stations for electric vehicles, Onmanorama had reported earlier.
Earlier, the decision was to run charging stations either by the KSEB or under the PPP model. However, Electricity Minister K Krishnan Kutty wanted the immediate setting up of charging stations across the State. To meet this demand, the KSEB decided to open up the sector to individual players too.
The decision to open up more charging stations is expected to give a fillip to the EV market in the State. Though the State Government had offered many sops to the public in order to make them switch over to electric vehicles, what dissuaded them hitherto was the non-availability of enough charging stations.
The State Government will have to frame guidelines for fixing fares for battery charging once private parties come up with charging stations.
As per the new electric vehicle promotion policy framework issued by the Union Government, there is no need for obtaining a licence for opening a charging station. You need to forward your application to the KSEB only after the charging station is launched.
