CESL to set up 810 EV charging stations across 16 highways, expressways pan India

Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL) will set up 810 electric vehicle charging stations across 16 highways and expressways covering 10,275 kilometres across the country.

CESL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) under the Ministry of Power has discovered prices for setting up 810 electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs), a statement said. The selected corridors include busy routes such as the Mumbai-Pune highway, Ahmedabad-Vadodara Highway, Delhi-Agra Yamuna Expressway, Eastern Peripheral Expressway, Hyderabad ORR Expressway, and Agra-Nagpur Highway to name a few, as per the statement.

Also read: HUDCO to raise up to Rs 22,000 crore via bonds

CESL is using a service procurement model for setting up these charging stations. In this public-private-partnership model, CESL will partner with companies whose job will be to invest in and operate these charging stations across the expressways and highways. These charging stations are expected to be established in the next 6-8 months. Putting up charging infrastructure on highways is part of the FAME-II scheme administered by the Ministry of Heavy Industries.

These electric vehicle charging stations will be designed to cater to both private and public vehicles including ones on the roads today — such as Hyundai Kona, Tata Nexon EV, MG ZS EV and other compatible EVs and e-buses. Providing fast DC connectors, CESL will install 590 chargers of 50kW capacity and 220 chargers of higher 100kW capacity. The chargers with 50kW capacity will be available every 25 kilometres and the 100kW chargers every 100 kilometres. This tender has achieved the government’s vision to blend subsidy with investment and encourage private investment in the charging stations business.