Govt to boost infra for alternate fuel vehicles

EV charging to cost Rs 5.50 per unit during day, Rs 4.50 per unit at night

The Maharashtra government, which has taken a lead in the promotion of electric vehicles and vehicles run on alternate fuels, plans to provide a slew of incentives and create an ecosystem for growth of the initiative, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced on Monday.

His announcement came days after the state saw EV sales going up by 153 per cent in the first nine months of 2021-22. The state aims to have around 10 per cent of all new vehicle registrations from the EV segment.

The CM also highlighted Maharashtra’s leading position, reiterating that the government is committed to giving a push to implementation of its EV policy which was announced last year. Speaking at the maiden alternate fuel conference held in Pune, Thackeray called upon the industry leaders to invest in alternate fuel manufacturing units that will help the state to consolidate its leading position in the field.

Industry minister Subhash Desai said that his department has taken an initiative in the creation of electric charging infrastructure across the state. The government is providing incentives for the demand and supply segments of electric vehicles.

Meanwhile, energy minister Nitin Raut said that his department will use hydrogen as an alternative fuel to generate power in the state. “We are shifting our focus of generation of electricity from conventional fuel to Hydrogen,” he said.

Raut said the state government has appointed MahaVitaran

as the nodal agency for setting up EV charging stations. “As a part of asset monetisation, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company, Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company and Maharashtra State Power Generation Company will form a JV with oil marketing companies to set up EV charging stations on the premises of petrol pumps,” he said, adding that the next step would be to increase the number of charging stations in the school and college premises so that students would have easy access to charging.

“While taking initiatives, care has been taken to keep the electricity charges quite reasonable at Rs 5.50 per unit during daytime use. At night, from 10.00 pm to 6.00 am, the rate will be Rs 4.50 per unit,’’ said Raut.