Kannur: Central approval has been granted for 219 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across Kerala's national highways and cities.
The Union Ministry of Heavy Industries has sanctioned a grant of ₹68.12 crore for this purpose. 335 chargers will be installed.
The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) will oversee the project. The charging stations are coming under the PM-eDrive (Pradhan Mantri Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement) scheme. The state had requested approval for a total of 270 stations, of which 147 were on national highways.
Charging stations are being established on government land and on the premises of public sector undertakings such as KSEB, KSRTC and BSNL. Officials from KSEB's Renewable Energy and Energy Savings (REES) Department stated that tenders will be invited shortly.
High-speed charging stations with capacities of 120 kW and 240 kW will be introduced. These can be used to charge two-wheelers, cars and trucks. The standard size of a station is 15 metres in length and 7 metres in width.
Currently, charging stations installed by KSEB elsewhere have a capacity of only 30-60 kW, which results in lower charging speeds.
Locations for the 219 EV charging stations have been largely determined, including Vydyuthi Bhavanam Thiruvananthapuram, Keltron House, Aluva KSRTC, 33 kV Substation Kannur, BSNL Malappuram, KTDC Kovalam, Cochin Development Authority land Ernakulam, Travancore Titanium, Kanhangad Substation, Kozhikode Nallalam Substation and BSNL Uduma.