The Indian transport sector is the third largest greenhouse gas emitter, out of which road transport shares 90 per cent in total transport sector emission. India’s fuel import dependence for FY 2021-22 was around 85.5 per cent. Transition to electric mobility will provide multiple benefits to our country like energy security, emission reduction and saving on fuel import bill, writes Prasad Reshme, Director (Projects), Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL).
Currently, there are ~6 lacs 2Ws, 8 lacs 3Ws and 45,000 4Ws registered in India1. In addition, there are more than 3000 operational public charging stations. Government of India (GoI) has taken multiple initiatives to promote electric mobility in the country. The Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) launched Phase II of FAME India scheme, through which it is providing financial assistance of Rs 10,000 crore for electric vehicles (EVs), charging infrastructure and awareness activities. Under this scheme, in addition to upfront incentives on purchase of EVs, the government is also providing incentives on the cost of EV chargers.
Through this scheme, the government sanctioned 2,877 public charging stations across 68 cities and 1576 charging stations across 16 national highways and 9 expressways.
Apart from this, the Ministry of Power issued revised guidelines and standards for EV charging infrastructure in January 2022 for faster deployment of public EV charging infrastructure. Further, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) issued amendments in Model Building Bye-Laws for EV charging infrastructure. Creating the Charging Infrastructure network will help in eliminating the range anxiety in the minds of EV owners which in turn will help in increased penetration of electric vehicles.
Further, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) have announced the setting up of 22,000 EV charging stations (10,000
IOCL, 7000 BPCL, 5000 HPCL) in prominent cities and national highways across the country. In addition, at the sub-national level, 23 states have launched EV policies through which they are providing incentives on EV purchase, subsidy for installation of charging infrastructure and other promotional incentives.
However, the adoption of EVs in the country is still at the nascent stage. Under the FAME-II scheme, out of 2877 charging stations sanctioned, only 54 public charging stations are operational till date. In order to expedite installation of public charging stations, the Government of India is focusing on nine cities having four million plus population (as per Census 2011), namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, and Surat where it is expected that EV penetration would be higher as compared to other cities.
The map of India is apparently going green, not because forest areas have increased, but because many states have registered a large number of electric vehicle sales in the country and that is going green in a way. Maharashtra has been one of the frontrunners among the states in terms of EV sales and adoption of EV in the country.
In order to accelerate the development of EV markets in Maharashtra, the state EV Policy has mandated increase in use of the electric vehicle by the year 2025 (10 per cent of new vehicle registration will be EVs), making at least 25 per cent of the public transport vehicles in six polluted metro cities as EVs by 2025 and to make Maharashtra the highest productive state in terms of electric vehicle production capacity in India. As per the policy, April 1, 2022 onwards, engaging 100 per cent EV vehicles on rental as well as on a purchase basis at government offices has been mandated.
MSEDCL has embraced the e-mobility transition and is taking strides in establishing Maharashtra as a leader in EV space. As a state nodal agency, MSEDCL is tasked with the responsibility of enabling the deployment of public charging infrastructure. Ambitious targets have been set and MSEDCL, as an organisation, is striving to achieve the targets. Targets such as having public charging stations in a grid of 3kmx3km in urban areas along with electrification of all major highways in the state is itself a humongous task and requires a new kind of governance to success in the VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) environment. MSEDCL has undertaken various initiatives to ensure that the vision of establishing Maharashtra as a leader in EV space is achieved by leveraging on digital technologies coupled with transformative governance.
MSEDCL as an organisation is taking a proactive approach as a state nodal agency for deployment of EV charging infrastructure across the state. MSEDCL has already developed a web portal for single window clearance for EV connection to enable faster connections, while the portal for disbursement of GoM EV policy-2021 incentives has ensured hassle-free disbursements of incentives. Further, MSEDCL’s EV initiatives consist of MSEDCL’s own electric vehicle charging stations, PowerUp mobile app for EV users, Electrical Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Operation Centre Solution & web portals. PowerUp mobile app is developed for four- wheeler EV owners to charge their EVs at MSEDCL’s charging stations. This mobile app has a ‘MapMe’ feature through which the location and details of non-MSEDCL charging stations can also be displayed.
In addition to efficiently playing the role of SNA as a facilitator, MSEDCL has also installed EV charging stations at different locations from their own funds in the MSEDCL offices and substations where sufficient spare land is available and are having easy approach. It is planning to rapidly scale up the number of EV charging stations across Maharashtra.
To manage these EV charging stations as unmanned stations, MSEDCL has developed software having an operation control centre solution with a mobile app option. A user-friendly mobile app for EV users for charging their EVs at MSEDCL or partner EV charging stations has also been developed. This is the unique project through which private EV charging stations have also been added to the mobile app. This will help to nurture the usage of electric vehicles in Maharashtra.
Over a period of 10 years, it is expected that more than 7,500 lakh km will be electrified, resulting in ~75 mn kgs of avoided CO2 emissions while saving about 213 crore on fossil fuels. Further, the charging infrastructure for EV charging is expected to generate an additional revenue of more than 32 crore for the utilities, while about 16 crore for players providing charging services. The whole ecosystem is expected to generate employment in tune of more than a lakh of job hours in a year.
It is visible that MSEDCL, as a state nodal agency, under the guidance and leadership of Vijay Singhal, IAS, CMD, MSEDCL and Dinesh Waghmare, IAS, Principal Secretary (Energy), Government of Maharashtra has taken various proactive measures for driving Maharashtra’s EV policy and aspires that with the support from Maharashtra government, the state shall be a leading player in the EV space.
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