Bescom infra ill-equipped to handle EV charging overloads, says study

The report has recommended that authorities encourage charging of vehicles at home during the night

Pointing at challenges in installing and maintaining charging stations for electric vehicles in the city, a study has recommended that authorities should encourage charging of vehicles at home during the night.

The Electric Vehicle Policy of 2017 seeks to turn half of the 2.4 crore vehicles, numbers Karnataka will achieve by 2030, into EVs.

In view of this, the India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF), a think tank forged out of public-private partnership, has studied Bescom’s infrastructure and pointed to the challenges.

The study noted that increased EVs will result in charging during peak hours and result in demand for peak loads. This is further complicated by different types of vehicles, their energy needs and charger categories.

Read | 1,000 electric charging stations planned in Karnataka

“The increased demand for EV loads will overload substation and distribution transformers, thereby degrading the life of the transformers. In addition, EV charging can lead to many problems with power quality such as voltage drops, power imbalances and voltage/current harmonics,” the report said.

In consultation with Bescom, ISGF identified 300 locations across 90 city areas based on space and distribution network availability, accessibility and other parameters.

Among the places identified include educational institutions, hospitals, railway stations, bus stands, religious places and shopping malls due to convenience and space availability.

Answering the conundrum of whether EVs or charging stations come first, ISGF cited the example of North America, Europe and Japan where stations were set up with government grants and support.

It said charging stations the Bescom has set up will lead to financial losses since the business volume is too low to meet the operational cost. Although EV adoption will boost businesses, adoption will remain slow.

“EV charging business is not sustainable as a standalone venture anytime soon... it is difficult to attract private investors,” the report said, providing several options which make it a viable model, including funding from large businesses and subsidy from the government.

The report said home charging of EVs typically happens in the night when other electrical loads are low.

The report suggested a lower tariff rate between 11 pm and 5 am.

It has also recommended upgrading Bescom infrastructure, especially feeders, to meet the demand and prevent overload.

Watch latest videos by DH here: