Chandigarh set to expand EV charging infra

The city will soon expand its electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure with the functioning of multiple public charging stations across various locations. The Rajasthan-based company, which first installed EV charging points in Chandigarh, will resume operations at its sites in the next five months.

The company had initially installed several charging points in the busy parking areas, including those of Sector 9 and Sector 17, even before the city formulated its EV policy. However, a dispute between the company and the Central Government had stalled the operation of these stations. Now, with clearance from the Central Ministry, the company is set to run these stations at 27 locations by March 2025. These locations will have high, medium and low-speed charging points, enabling residents to conveniently charge their vehicles at the parking lots.

Officials are emphasising the installation of new public charging stations to ensure that every neighbourhood has easy access to EV units. At present, 14 charging stations are functional and an additional five are expected to be launched soon. Citizens can access real-time information on these stations through the Electriva app.

According to the Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy notified on September 20, 2022, as many as 100 public charging stations were to be installed in the city in the first two years of the policy period.

Despite all efforts, the administration has been able to start only 14 stations in the past one and a half years.

Officials said one of the reasons for the delay in making charging stations functional was theft of equipment. Parts worth Rs 1.5 crore had been stolen from five stations.

Since the implementation of the EV Policy in September 2022, EV registrations a witnessed steady growth. According to the data, 418 electric vehicles were registered in 2020, 911 in 2021, 2,976 in 2022, 6,534 in 2023 and 5,144 this year so far.