Bescom to set up 63 more EV charging stations

Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd has decided to set up 63 charging stations under public-private partnership model.The company has set up 136 EV charging stations — 106 AC and 30 DC chargers — in Bengaluru, in line with EV and energy storage policy. The plan is to expand the current network.

As per the report, Karnataka has 2.7 crore vehicles, including 81,193 electric ones. Records show the number of EVs in the state increasing over the years, from 6,454 (in 2019) to 9,731 (in 2020) to 33,302 (in 2021). A total of 3,544 EVs have been registered in the state this year so far.

In the 2021-22 state budget, Bescom had proposed to set up more than 1,000 EV charging stations across Karnataka under PPP model. The selected firms will establish, operate and maintain them for 126 months at these locations.The firms can install more units based on space availability and demand. Further, a maximum of one battery-swapping facility/kiosk can be installed based on demand/requirement.

Bescom’s plan is to have a charging station every 5km in the city. EV users can download ‘Electree Fi’ app to locate the nearest facility, reserve a slot, and pay for charging session through cashless mode.