New Delhi: The government is considering installing at least one electric vehicle (EV) charging kiosk at around 69,000 petrol pumps in the country. The move is expected to give an impetus to the demand for electric vehicles in the country. Apart from this, the government is also considering mandating EV charging kiosks at all petrol pumps of companies owned, operating companies (COCOs), and government refinery companies.
During the review meeting on the electric vehicle charging structure, Power Minister RK Singh suggested to the top officials of the Petroleum Ministry that they can issue an order for petroleum marketing companies under their administrative control to install charging kiosks at all COCO petrol pumps. A source said that other franchisee petrol pump operators may be advised to install at least one charging kiosk at their fuel stations. The source said that with this, the EV charging facility will be installed at all petrol pumps in the country. According to the new guidelines of the Ministry of Petroleum, at least one alternative fuel option is mandatory on all new petrol pumps. “Under alternative fuels, most new petrol pumps are opting for electric vehicle charging facility,” the source said.
If EV charging kiosks are also installed at existing petrol pumps, then this will give impetus to electric vehicles in the country. ” According to industry estimates, there are around 69,000 petrol pumps in the country. The EV charging facility at all petrol pumps will give tremendous impetus to electric vehicles. Right now people are reluctant to buy electric vehicles due to lack of charging facility. Ministry of Power has planned to install EV charging structures in Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Vadodara and Bhopal. Apart from this, the Ministry intends to put EV charging structure on national highways as well. This will encourage people to buy electric vehicles. The source said, “The minister believes that setting up two or three charging stations in a city would be a waste of money.” The central government is preparing to fully power public transport in Delhi. It can later be adopted by other cities as well. “
