The state of Andhra Pradesh may take the lead in welcoming electric vehicles (EVs) in the country, by setting up charging stations across the state. Though India has been facing a severe crisis on the petroleum products front with rising crude prices and the US dollar exchange rate going through the roof, there appears to be very little sign of worry on the part of those in power at the Centre and in the states to work on alternate ways to bring down the reliability on petrol and diesel, at least in the future. It is in this context that the news of Andhra government setting up 50 EV charging stations comes as a pleasant surprise.
The project is being spearheaded by the Energy department of the AP government and the first such charging station is going active within a week at the Interim Government Complex in Velagapudi. The department has taken upon itself the task of launching around 1,000 to 1,500 EVs and the EV charging stations will come up in the state’s new capital Amaravati and in key cities like Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Guntur.
The project is expected to serve the twin purpose of controlling the air pollution as well as reducing the use of petrol and diesel.
With the charging stations being ready, it will make the launch of the electric vehicles smoother. With the main seat of the government still under construction, the Secretariat is operating from makeshift premises in Velugapudi and this is where the first charging station will become operational. The electric vehicles are being delivered by a firm Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) and the first batch of around 300 vehicles may start arriving in July itself.