Electric Vehicle owners in India could see their costs come down significantly with a new proposal by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister – Nitin Gadkari. Under this proposal, public charging points could see their electricity cost reduced to as little as ₹5 per unit. This would make the overall cost of running an electric car much cheaper and further encourage people to move from petrol and diesel vehicles.
Currently, the cost of public EV charging in India could be up to ₹22 per unit – depending on which provider you go to, where you’re charging and what kind of charging point you’re using. This can mean the price of charging your EV publically can quite expensive. With the proposal to reduce tariffs though, this could leave electric vehicle owners feeling relieved.
Under the new proposals charging could be as little as ₹5 per unit for charging your vehicle between 8AM-6PM. After this time it could be as low as ₹8-10 per unit.
This cost would be a significant reduction so let’s take the example that your EV has a 40kWh useful battery. To fully charge the battery it would take 40units of energy excluding any charging losses. This would cost you around ₹880 for the charge at current prices. Under the new proposal it would only cost you ₹200 to charge the vehicle (excluding any charging loss).
This makes public charging for electric vehicles very appealing. People who regularly travel long distances will love being able to significantly reduce their charging costs. It could also help reduce the cost of electric taxis, delivery vehicles and other commercial EV vehicles.
One of the most appealing factors about EVs is the running cost. However, some people have been worried about the high public charging costs. Whilst it will always be cheaper to charge at home, people living in apartments or with no parking space will need to use public charging points. If they can now charge for less, this should help alleviate some of these worries.
The daytime charging cost is a great proposal as it would encourage EV owners and fleet operators to charge their vehicles during off peak times or during the day. It could help improve the demand for electricity.
Keep in mind that these numbers are just proposals. The actual charging cost will depend on what government decisions are made and what electricity tariff rules are applied.
If public charging really does come down to ₹5 per unit during the day it could be great news for the electric vehicle industry in India. The cost of charging will be reduced meaning owners will have a better experience and lower running costs. Electric cars will be even more appealing.
As the prices of electric vehicles continue to change along with the charging infrastructure and battery tech, having cheap electricity could become another factor for electric vehicle adoption in India. Will we actually see such low charging costs and how soon will they be rolled out?