100 to 30: Chandigarh pulls plug on No. of charging units
Dushyant Singh Pundir
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 1
The UT Administration has decided to scale down the number of charging stations from 100 to 30 in the city.
According to the Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy notified on September 20, 2022, as many as 100 public charging stations were to be installed in the city in the first two years of the policy period.
Despite all efforts, the administration has been able to start only eight stations in the past one and a half years. According to the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST), the remaining stations will be made operational by September 15.
Officials said one of the reasons for the delay in making charging stations functional was theft of equipment. Parts worth Rs 1.5 crore had been stolen from five stations two months ago. The thieves had also taken away charging guns. Moreover, residents prefer to charge their electric vehicles at home and they use these stations in case of emergency, said the officials, adding that the stations would be installed at market places and at spots that receive heavy footfall.
Earlier, the administration was to install 53 stations at 32 locations across the city by March-end. The authorities have now decided to set up 30 charging facilities. They said it would be financially unviable to install more such stations keeping in view the number of electric vehicles registered in the city. Thirty charging stations would be sufficient to charge vehicles registered so far in the city, they said.
Since the implementation of the EV Policy in September 2022, 3,281 electric two-wheelers and 1,785 four-wheelers had been registered in the city till July 15.
According to the data provided by the Registration and Licensing Authority (RLA), 352 electric two-wheelers and 114 four-wheelers were registered from September to December in 2022. The highest number of 2,103 electric two-wheelers and 1,013 four-wheelers had been registered in 2023 and 826 two-wheelers and 658 four-wheelers till July 15 this year in the city.
On November 23 last year, the then UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit had revoked the capping on non-electric vehicle registrations, including two-wheelers, four-wheelers and commercial vehicles.
On March 8, the UT Administrator had stated that all 53 charging stations would be made functional by month-end. Later, the authorities had stated that the stations would be made operational by April-end.
According to the CREST officials, eight charging stations, including those in Sectors 44-C, 44-D, 43-B, 7, Mani Majra and Lake Sport Club, have been provided with power connection and the rest would be made operational in a phased manner. The main reasons for the delay in making the charging stations functional was time taken in getting approvals from various departments, they added.
An impasse between the local Municipal Corporation and the UT Administration over the installation of charging stations in parking lots had delayed the project earlier.
The officials said 20 charging stations had been installed and made operational in private establishments and three petrol pumps.
Setting up more facilities financially unviable now
Earlier, the administration was to install 53 stations at 32 locations across the city by March-end but the work got delayed for various reasons. The authorities have now decided to set up 30 charging facilities only. They said it would be financially unviable to have more stations keeping in view the number of electric vehicles registered in the city. Thirty charging stations would be sufficient to charge vehicles registered so far in the city, they said.
