Electrifying Delhi

Will the plan to build charging stations every three km really boost electric vehicle usage in the Capital?

There is no doubt that electric vehicles are the future of mobility; if not the immediate future, then definitely within the next 10-15 years. However, electric vehicles as we know them today have one critical problem that prevents their widespread use. That is the issue of charging infrastructure and time. The fact is that with an internal combustion engine that runs on diesel, petrol or even natural gas, it is fairly easy to pull over at a petrol pump, tank up and be on your way within five minutes. Finding a petrol pump is not a challenge even if one is critically low on fuel. That is clearly not the case with electric vehicles where finding a charging station remains a challenge and ‘range anxiety’, that is the fear that one will run out of charge, is a real thing. As more electric vehicles such as Hyundai’s Kona SUV come onto Indian roads, more charging infrastructure will be built but of course this is a chicken-or-egg situation. Will one buy an electric vehicle without an adequate number of charging stations in the vicinity? Or should the Government build charging stations when there are few electric vehicles around? The Delhi Government believes that the latter route is the one it must take. The Government had announced the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy on August 7, 2020, with the target of making the city-State the EV capital of India. The policy — widely considered among the best in the world — aims to achieve the overarching objective of improving the Capital’s air quality and creating an entire supply-chain ecosystem for this new segment of vehicles. State Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot has said that the Government will build and work with private partners to install electric vehicle charging stations every three kilometres, which is a definite positive although, given Delhi’s huge vehicular population, it isn’t even a drop in the ocean.

There is another problem with electric vehicles. Unlike with a petrol or diesel vehicle where you can be on your way in minutes, even “fast charging” outlets take a minimum of 15-20 minutes to deliver a reasonable amount of power; electric vehicles are not for those with an impatient bent of mind. While technological innovations will probably speed up fast charging and more charging outlets will make a difference, for real private electric vehicular usage will grow only with more charging stations at home and also by allowing private individuals to establish their own outlets where anybody can charge their vehicles (and presumably pay). This, coupled with renewable sources of power such as solar and wind, can make a major difference to electric vehicle usage in India. But, as of now, even with rapidly increasing petrol and diesel prices, the massive capital costs of buying a decent electric vehicle are far too high to make these automobiles viable, no matter how many charging stations are built.

Source: The Pioneer