Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the inauguration of 11 high-tech low-cost stations at Indraprastha Metro station Tuesday. (Photo: Videograb/Twitter@Arvind Kejriwal)Delhi is soon going to get 100 more electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while inaugurating 11 high-tech low-cost stations at Indraprastha Metro station Tuesday.
The 11 charging stations were launched as part of a larger project to establish 100 more charging stations across the city. The main aim behind it is to push the public to shift to EVs and make Delhi pollution free as well as the EV capital of India.
दिल्ली बहुत तेज़ी से E-Vehicle पर शिफ़्ट हो रही है। आज से दिल्ली में 11 और इलेक्ट्रिक चार्जिंग स्टेशन शुरू हो रहे हैं। https://t.co/RFT0h1otIU
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 18, 2022
After inaugurating the charging stations, the CM said, “Through these 11 stations, Delhi has given the world the most affordable model of its kind. Driving an EV after charging them here would be extremely cheap — it would barely cost 7 paise/km for two-wheelers, 8 paise/km for three-wheelers and 33 paise/km for four-wheelers.”
The 11 charging stations will have 73 charging points and 12 swapping stations and consumers will be charged at the rate of Rs 3 per unit. The remaining 100 charging stations with 900 charging points and 103 swapping stations are expected to be operational in two months.
Kejriwal said, “When the policy was launched, we had not expected such a tremendous response. Our target was to achieve 25% EVs by 2024 and it was considered very ambitious. But in the last two years, Delhi has emerged as the first state where EV adoption rates have reached double digits with an average of 10% in 2022 and even crossing it over the period. In the last two years, over 70,000 EVs have been bought in Delhi.”
He also said Delhi has even left California and New York behind in its EV pursuit. “Whenever we speak about purchasing EVs, the first question that comes to mind is where it will be charged? Our plan is to install EV charging stations every 3 km. Delhi already has close to 2,900 public charging points and 250 swapping stations, which is perhaps the highest across the nation,” said the CM.
Kejriwal said these stations are being installed under a PPP model where the government provides land at highly concessional rates and electrical infrastructure of up to 100kW on each site. The charging points will be largely set up in public places like metro stations, bus depots, malls, theatres, RWAs, and office premises.
The government has further floated a larger tender for the remaining 100 stations, which is expected to be ready in the next two months. About 70% of these sites are Delhi Metro parking areas where EV users can easily park their vehicles for charging.
Dialogue and Development Commission Vice-Chairperson Jasmine Shah tweeted, “With these rock bottom EV charging rates of 7-8 paise/km, thanks to Delhi Govt’s unique PPP model for setting up EV charging stations, Delhiites have another reason to switch electric this Diwali. Proud of DDC Delhi’s role in making this happen!”