Tata Power launches 2 EV charging stations in Mumbai
09 Jan 2018
Tata Power has opened two new electric vehicle charging stations in Mumbai, both in malls - in Kurla's Phoenix Marketcity and Lower Parel's Palladium Mall.
Two more electric vehicle charging stations are coming up at BKC and western express highway at Borivali, a Tata Power statement said.
The company had installed Mumbai's first electric vehicle charging station in Vikhroli last year. Its strategy is to cover areas where EV users might want outlets.
Charging stations are an infrastructural need if the government is to succeed in promoting a shift to electric vehicles. Media outlets continue to cite 2030 as the year by which India aims to have only EVs on its roads, though the government has denied in parliament that it has set any such deadline (See: Damp squib: no plans for all-electric cars by 2030, says India).
Tata Motors said it plans to set up charging stations at various locations in Mumbai and is in discussions with various stakeholders to this end.
The Times of India reported, citing sources, two more charging stations will be coming up in the city within a few weeks. The charging stations are likely to come up in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and near Western Express Highway in Borivali.
Power utility firms are also looking at other locations to set up the charging stations and are in talks with civic bodies - Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) - to set up chargers at public parking places.
Tata Power chief executive Anil Sardana told TOI that the chargers at the stations can help monitor car battery status and units consumed while charging the car.
The Mahindra e2o and Nissan Leaf are two among other electric vehicles that benefit in a city like Mumbai as the infrastructure to charge the cars are available.
Among many other measures, the government has waived some taxes on EVs.
