Delhi: Commercial buildings to set aside space for EV vehicles, charge points

Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain Friday announced that all commercial and institutional buildings with a parking capacity of more than 100 vehicles — like malls, shopping complexes and hotels, among others — will be directed to set aside 5 per cent of the total vehicle capacity for electric vehicles and install suitable EV charging points with a minimum output of 3.3 KW on the premises.

Jain said this is being done “so that people get adequate infrastructure to charge their vehicles. In the first phase, we aim to install 500 charging points at 100 locations”. The transition is expected to be done by December.

In all new constructions, 20 per cent of the parking capacity “should have provisions for charging infrastructure for electric
vehicles,” read a Delhi government statement.

In August 2020, the Delhi government launched Delhi’s Electric Vehicle Policy with an aim to drive the transition to battery electric vehicles, so they contribute to 25 per cent of the total new vehicle registrations by 2024. The Delhi government is targeting the induction of 35,000 electric vehicles, 1,000 EVs for last-mile deliveries, and installation of 250 public charging/ swapping stations.

On February 4, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the Switch Delhi campaign, and said: “Delhi has to turn its EV adoption into a mass movement to form a collective commitment to decrease pollution by purchasing EVs. The campaign aims at informing, encouraging and motivating each and every person in Delhi to switch from polluting vehicles to zero-emission electric vehicles.”

He said that all departmental cars would transition to electric vehicles in the next six months.

Abhinav Soman, program associate at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), who has studied India’s policies on the transition to electric vehicles, said that though the move towards providing infrastructural support for EV is welcome, it also has to be made for two- and three-wheelers. “The transition to EV seems more economically feasible and is starting with two- and three-wheelers. There are many EV motorbikes and other vehicles emerging. Urban freight, such as delivery services (e-commerce platforms), and last-mile connectivity, presently has more potential to transition to EV and infrastructure presently, and infrastructure should be created for that too. The transition of cars to EV shall happen but it will be slower.”

While many states have policies on EV transition, Delhi’s implementation has seen more progress, he said. “In Delhi it is a good sign that there has been some implementation on the ground, with the EV policy and Switch Delhi campaigns,” he said.