Fortum, a Finnish government-owned company which has entered into an agreement with the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMR) to establish electric vehicle charging network at the metro stations, has offered to increase its presence.
A delegation of Fortum, led by its senior vice-president Risto Penttinen and executive vice-president Mikael Ronnblad, called on HMR MD N.V.S. Reddy at Metro Rail Bhavan on Thursday to discuss the expansion plans.
The firm recently entered the Indian market and has so far established 40 e-vehicle charging points for four-wheelers, of which half of them are in Hyderabad, mostly at HMR stations.
Fortum has already established e-vehicle charging points at Begumpet, Kukatpally, KPHB, Moosapet, Uppal, Tarnaka, Mettuguda and Habsiguda metro stations, and the service is free of cost at present. Once the tariff rates are applicable, the cost per kilometre of travel would be around ₹2.
Apart from the Fortum, the Power Grid Corporation of India, a Government of India undertaking, has also established three charging points at Miyapur and Balanagar metro stations. Other companies are also coming forward to establish e-vehicle charging points at metro stations for electric bikes and auto-rickshaws, said Mr. Reddy.
Later, in a presentation made to the Fortum delegation, he explained the unique features and engineering innovation of the Hyderabad Metro Rail project. He informed them that the HMR has a broader goal of promoting Hyderabad as a people-friendly green city with less pollution and better air quality.
The delegation expressed it’s readiness to establish more e-vehicle charging points at metro stations. Fortum India MD Sanjay Aggarwal, VP Awadhesh Jha, HMR chief electrical engineer D.V.S. Raju, SE M. Vishnu Vardhan Reddy and general manager (works) B.N. Rajeswar also participated in the discussions.