In a move to encourage the use of electric vehicles, an electric vehicle charging station was launched in Kochi on Saturday. The charging station has been set up at the outlet of Indian Oil United Fuels in Edapally. According to reports, this is the second electric vehicle charging station to be set up in south India after Hyderabad.
Charging vehicles will be free of cost for the first three months. Power Grid Corporation of India, an Indian government company of electric utilities, has provided the basic facilities for the initiative.
It requires about 90 minutes for an electric vehicle to be fully charged, though it will only take lesser time for top-up charging. The Power Grid Corporation of India officials said that more charging outlets will be built across the state. According to reports, 35 charging stations are proposed to be built in the state by 2020.
The charging station was inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan virtually on Saturday while attending the Evolve 2019, a conference to promote e-mobility.
The state has also planned to bring up the usage of electric vehicles in the state as an alternative to fossil fuel-run vehicles, which adds to the pollution. Inaugurating the Evolve conference, Pinarayi Vijayan said that the state will launch 10 lakh electric vehicles within 2022.
As part of implementing the draft of electric vehicle policy, the Chief Minister said that the state plans to launch two lakh two-wheeler vehicles, 50,000 three-wheeler vehicles, 1,000 good carriers, 3,000 buses and 100 ferry boats that run on electric power by 2022.
Meanwhile, Kerala Automobiles Ltd, a public sector undertaking, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Switzerland-based HESS AG to manufacture electric buses in the state. In addition to this, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has also proposed to introduce electric buses in the state, says reports.