Tata to set up 100 EV charging stations in Maharashtra

The energy arm of India’s steely giant, Tata Power plans to install 100 electric car charging stations in the state of Maharashtra. The charge stops are to support electric vehicle adoption in India and are not the only initiative in the region that is home to Mumbai.

So far, Tata Power has identified nine locations for the new electric car charging stations. More will be added over the coming months. Tata plans to device a mix of fast and regular chargers at these charging stations.

The plan builds on a Memorandum of Understanding Tata Motors has signed with the Government of Maharashtra to support the state’s own Electric Vehicle Policy.

Moreover, the state’s utility, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL), has proposed to set up 500 Electric Vehicle charging stations across the state by 2020. They would line the highway connecting Mumbai and Pune with a charging station at every 35 kilometres over a distance of 850 km.

Also in terms of vehicles, the region could become a centre for electric cars. Both India’s Mahindra and JSR Energy want to start producing electric cars in the capital region reportedly.

Tata Motors itself is working on electrifying the majority of their current lineup. Their only fully electric offering to date is the Tigor though. The model is mainly known due to an immense order by the state energy company Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL). They ordered 10,000 EVs last year that have so far been proven underwhelming due to very limited range in India’s real-life traffic (we reported).

Nationally, India has been working on the second version of the FAME scheme. The new draft has been said to channel funds away from grants for buying private electric cars and into EVs used by drivers working for shared mobility services such as Ola and Uber. The aim is to maximise electric mileage and ultimately impact of the electric car policies in India.

ndtv.com (Tata), mumbailive.com (MSEDCL)