By Shubhangi Bhatia
New Delhi: Tata Power Company Ltd. is exploring the opportunity to increase its network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations by installing them at Tata Motors dealerships, said Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power at the International Conference on Smart Energy & Smart Mobility for Smart Cities on Wednesday.
The Tata Group firm has already installed a total of 168 charging stations at public spaces, across the states of Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Sinha stated, adding, “Creating charging stations take at most a month’s time. What needs to be sorted is the existing network and the power supply.”
According to him, they are looking to expand the number of charging stations to around 600 spots in the next few months.
The company is also seeking to set up home EV charging stations along with public spaces. “We are targeting other outlets of Tata Group companies like Ginger Hotels, Taj Hotels, Tanishq, Westside, Chroma along with metro stations, municipal corporations, shopping malls, theatres and highway, among others,” Sinha said.
As for the EV adoption in the country, Reji Kumar Pillai, President, ISGF (India Smart Grid Forum) opined, “Lack of public charging infrastructure is not a big constraint. Globally, people charge their private vehicles at home or office where it is parked for maximum time. Its only once the populaton of EV swell that we would witness and explosion in the charging infrastructure in India.”
Talking on similar lines, Sinha added, “The share of EVs in India is small. At most places, there is only five percent utilisation of EV charging stations. In such a scenario, the capex in the form of investment is stuck over there leading to slow return on investments.”
Pillai further stressed on the need to bring EVs with fast charging batteries for its mass adoption in the market, especially in smaller vehicles for higher driving range.
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