On-going talks about 400 public EV charging stations in Kolkata

04 September 2019 Isha Sharma

(Excerpt)

India's Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) is in talks with the West Bengal state government about setting up electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, reports the Economic Times. "We are planning 400 public EV charging stations in the city and new town. Soon, a deal with the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) will be inked. We require land for the EV stations at viable locations. We have submitted a proposal to carry out the capex [capital expenditure] and maintain the infrastructure for 10 years. There will be some revenue sharing with the landowner," said EESL regional head Sudeep Bhar. In addition to the NKDA, the West Bengal Transport Department, Power Department, and Urban Development Department will also be involved in setting up the proposed EV charging stations.

Significance: EESL is a joint venture (JV) of public-sector undertakings in India under the Union (federal) Ministry of Power. The agency is taking charge of the implementation of the government's ambitious EV programme and has completed the tender processes to procure 10,000 EVs for use by various government departments. Last year, EESL also invited bids for 2,000 EV chargers to be deployed in the second phase of its EV programme . According to a previous local media report, EESL has commissioned 300 AC and 170 DC chargers across India, and also has 55 public charging points, which are currently operational in Delhi NCR. In a recent move, EESL announced in July that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority to install 100 EV charging stations in Noida city .