Karnataka rolls out revenue model in EV infra push

To push infrastructure for electric vehicles (EV), the state government has come up with a revenue-sharing model in which landowners who provide space for public charging stations (PCS) will be paid a fixed rate of Re 1 for every kilowatt charged.

The government has also notified an action plan to set up 1,190 charging stations in the state at an estimated cost of Rs 343 crore. Of these, 150 will come up in Bengaluru Urban district.

The decision on revenue-sharing is based on the directions issued by the Union government earlier this year.

"...land available with government/public entities shall be provided for installation of PCS to a government/public entity on a revenue-sharing basis at a fixed rate of Re 1/kWh (used for charging) to be paid to the land-owning agency," the directions read.

The revenue-sharing model may also be adopted in the case of a private entity for the installation of PCS.

These guidelines were implemented via a government order and was notified recently, paving the way for the installation of public EV charging stations in different parts of the state.

Charging stations

The installation of 1,190 EV charging stations (EVCS) in the state will be implemented under the public-private partnership model. The installation will be done in five zones with electricity supply companies identified as nodal agencies. For instance, under Bescom limits comprising eight districts, 455 EVCS will be installed.

District headquarters recognised under the Smart Cities project are given high priority for the installation of EVCS. A total of 600 EVCS will come up in the nine district headquarters of the state.

The installation of high-speed L2 and L3 charging stations is also mapped as per government directions. L3 charging stations — the fastest system to charge EVs currently — shall be "allocated in such a way that all major highways are covered", said the order.

Similarly, L2 stations will be distributed across the districts based on vehicular density. The action plan also recommends identifying L2 location stations in such a manner that they can be easily upgraded to L3 stations.