The set-up of electric vehicle charging infrastructure could attract benefits from under the central government’s FAME scheme in the future. The central government is expected to soon redraft the current FAME II scheme, which was introduced in 2019, to include subsidies for entities setting up EV charging infrastructure across the country. The announcement was made by Union Power Ministry secretary Alok Kumar at the recently held INSIGHT 2022.
The subsidies are expected to be provided on upstream infrastructure such as transformers etc which are required prior to the setting up of charging stations. Kumar said that the government would provide subsidies to firms who would set up charging infrastructure in small towns and cities. Kumar said that setting up of 150kW or 200kW charging infrastructure required investments of Rs 5-6 lakh for setting up of a dedicated transformer which currently attracts no subsidies.
He added that the new scheme currently being discussed would provide companies with subsidies to pay Discoms for the setting up of this upstream infrastructure. He said that the initial focus of the scheme would be to set up charging infrastructure in nine specified cities with a population of over 4 million as well as setting up over 20,000 charging stations along National Highways and Expressways.
The Ministry of Power’s current guidelines for EV charging infrastructure calls for the deployment of EV chargers in every 3km by 3km grid in cities as well as at every 25km interval on national highways and expressways. Furthermore, it calls for the setting up of at least one fast charging station at every 100km interval on highways or roads to support electric public transport vehicles and long range EVs.
The guidelines also calls for the states to give preference to the existing outlet of oil marketing companies for the setting up of charging infrastructure.
