India proposes faster approval for EV charging stations

The Indian government could cut the time to get approval for installing EV charging stations. Such a move will help it ramp up the nation’s EV charging network at a much faster pace.

India’s Ministry of Power (MoP) wants power distribution companies (DISCOMs) to provide the connection for EV charging stations within 3 days in metropolitan areas, 7 days in other municipal areas, and 15 days in rural areas. The current guidelines state that DISCOMs connect them within 7 days in metro cities, 15 days in other municipal areas, and 30 days in rural areas.

For places where the DISCOMs need to extend the distribution mains or commission new substations, the MoP proposes that DISCOMs supply electricity within 90 days of completing that work. Moreover, they shall establish a customer-friendly single-window clearance system online to fast-track the grant of connections for EV chargers.

DISCOMs may provide a low-tension connection of up to 150 kW at public, community, office, and bus depot charging stations. Additionally, the MoP says that State Nodal agencies and city authorities shall map the geographic distribution of potential EV charging demand at least once a year.

Apart from speeding up approvals of EV charging station applications, the MoP discusses the tariff for electricity supply to EV charging stations. It proposes a single-part tariff that does not exceed the Average Cost of Supply (ACoS) until 31 March 2026. Additionally, it mentions that the DISCOMs’ cost to supply power to the EV charging station shall be 0.7 times the ACoS during solar hours (9:00 AM to 4:00 PM) and 1.3 times during non-solar hours of ACoS during the remaining period of the day.

By FY2030, the MoP aims to have at least one charging station in a grid of every square kilometre in urban limits and one such power outlet placed at every 20 km on both sides of highways/expressways/roads. For long-range EVs and/or heavy-duty EVs, it suggests at least one fast-charging station (with two 250 kW or higher-rate charging guns) at every 100 km on each side of highways/expressways/roads.

The MoP created the new proposals after consulting with the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), and other stakeholders. On 1 July, it sent them these suggestions in a draft and asked them to submit their views within 30 days.

powermin.gov.in (PDF)