Capital all set to have 100 more EV charging stations by June 27

New Delhi: The Capital is set to have hundred new e-vehicle charging stations with 500 charging points by June 27 and 71 of these would be at Metro stations, Power Minister Satyendar Jain said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference here, he said, the charge for using the station facility will be "Rs 2 per unit", which he claimed would be the "lowest in the country".

"Our EV policy envisages a charging station per 3 km in the city. Tenders were floated for setting up 100 (e-vehicle) charging stations with 500 charging points. Tenders have been closed, and 100 prime locations have been identified where charging stations will be set up, and 71 of these will be located at metro stations," Jain said.

According to the tender, the stations will be built on a PPP (public-private-partnership) mode, with land, cabling and transmission infrastructure being provided by the government, and equipment and manpower by the company, he said.

The tender was selected on the basis of lowest service charge and of the 12 bidders, the service charge to be taken has been posited in the "negative" value, the minister said.

The charging stations will be operationalised within three months, he said.

The agreements will be signed by April 8 and by June 27 these will become operational, Jain added.

Jain later also tweeted about it: "The Delhi government will establish 100 EV-charging stations by June 27th 2022. These smart charging stations will have the lowest service charges in the country at Rs. 2.00 per unit. After the completion of this project, Delhi will have a total of 900 EV charging points."

Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) Vice Chairperson Jasmine

Shah told reporters that about 400 charging points currently exist in the city and are owned by government and private companies.

"Now, with 500 more charging points, the number will be more than doubled soon,"

he said.

Shah also said the 100 locations have been chosen across the national capital based on a scientific survey to cater to underserved areas.

A senior government official said, There are 180 charging stations, spanning about 379 charging points in Delhi at present. Additionally, Delhi has at least 79 battery swapping stations in operation which have 274 swapping docks.

Shah, later, in a series of tweets, said this was "yet another huge milestone" in Delhi's journey towards becoming India's EV capital.

"Delhi govt has successfully concluded India's largest tender for setting up 100 EV charging stations (total 500 points). They will be opened to public by June '22 and will offer rate of Rs 2/unit," he tweeted. In subsequent tweets, he claimed that this tender will become "a benchmark for many Indian cities in the years to come".