Delhi nears 5,000 EV charging, battery-swapping facilities: Discoms

The EV charging infrastructure is expanding rapidly in Delhi with power distribution companies setting up over 4,500 charging points and battery-swapping facilities across the city and hundreds more to be installed by the end of the current fiscal, discom officials said on Wednesday.

The number of charging points and battery-swapping facilities in the city will cross the 5,000-mark in the next few months, they said.

According to the latest report of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Delhi consumes 55 per cent of the power consumed at EV charging points across the country.

The BSES discoms -- BYPL and BRPL -- have installed over 3,100 charging points and battery-swapping stations at more than 1,200 locations across South, West, East, and Central Delhi.

These include 1,260 (40 per cent) private, 1,220 (39 per cent) public and 485 (15 per cent) captive category, said a spokesperson of the company.

In the current financial year, BSES will facilitate installation of over 1,200 EV charging points of which 850 have already been installed, he said.

There are 180 battery-swapping stations in areas under BSES discoms, he stated.

A Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL) official said the discom successfully installed over 1,550 EV charging points and battery-swapping stations at over 10 locations across north Delhi.

A majority of these 1,517 of the 1,550 charging points are private while 33 are operated at government and institutional agencies, the official said, adding that it has facilitated the setting up of 10 battery-swapping centres.

In 2023-24, TPDDL had set a target to instal 920 EV charging points, of which 471 have already been installed, she added.

The charging points in BSES area consume over 80 MW of electricity that will cross 130 MW in the next few months, the BSES spokesperson said.

He said 64 per cent of electricity consumption at EV charging points across Delhi is in BSES areas.

The fast growing network of EV charging points and battery-swapping stations is powering this shift, he said.

The increasing adoption of EVs in Delhi has the potential to significantly reduce pollution levels, addressing a major environmental challenge in the city, he said.

The share of EVs in relation to other vehicles is increasing in Delhi, starting from about 3 per cent in 2018 to 14-15 per cent at present, discom officials said.

"In fact, by December, this figure has increased to about 16 per cent. This goal can only be achieved through active private participation," fast growing network of EV charging points and battery-swapping stations is powering this shift and BSES is driving this," he stated.

The fast-expanding EV charging infra is localised primarily at residential colonies and societies having 790 (62 per cent) of the total private charging points.

Other prominent locations like commercial premises, including malls, hospitals, colleges, where around 445 (35 per cent) charging points are installed.

EV charging points at individual houses are 2 per cent of the private category, he added.