Bengaluru discom to set up 140 additional EV charging stations

The Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) is planning to set up 140 additional electric vehicle charging stations across Bengaluru throughout the next six months to increase the use of electric vehicles in the city. They will be set up in addition to the 136 stations installed at 70 locations. The electric vehicles demand, especially for two-wheelers, has steadily increased, with new players like Ola entering the electric scooter market. As per the officials in the BESCOM, 18,000 electric vehicles are operating in Bengaluru and 30,000 in the state, including four, three and two-wheelers. Two-wheelers make up most of the vehicles in Bengaluru, with more than 64 lakh two-wheelers being registered in the city out of a total of over 84 lakh non-transport vehicles as of 2020. According to the data from the Karnataka transport department, in the newly-registered two-wheelers, the city reported a growth of around 7% last year. C K Sreenath, Deputy general manager, Smart Grid and Electric Vehicles, BESCOM, told the media that each station would be having seven charging points. He said they have big plans to boost the adoption of electric vehicles, and currently, they installed 136 charging stations and will install another 140 in the next six months. BESCOM requested the Department of Personnel Administration and Reforms (DPAR) to write to the respective government departments considering the changeover to electric vehicles. He mentioned that BESCOM has been approached by a few Resident Welfare Associations (RWA) to enable the installation of charging stations at their apartments. He said that they are in contact with the RWAs, and they have apartments that are identified in the city where they can install the charging stations. The department of state transport entered into a Memorandum of Understanding last year with BESCOM to establish 100 AC and 26 DC charging stations in Bengaluru at Rs 4 crore. Mahesh Kashyap, an environmental consultant, told the media that the electric vehicles would decrease the impact of air pollution but would not reduce traffic congestion, which would continue irrespective of the introduction of fuel-based or electric vehicles. He said that at least EVs can reduce pollution from idling and slow-moving traffic during congestion. Image Source Also read: BHEL installs solar EV charging station at Karnal in Haryana Also read: BMC installs EV charging station in Mumbai