Public charging stations in Chennai power up EV

Have you spotted the latest addition to the landscape: an EV station next to a supermarket or any other major congregating point? Private players and even Greater Chennai Corporation are seeking to establish charging points in locations that can be quickly and comfortably accessed

Two years ago when Kiruba Joy brought home a new electric car, he did not anticipate objection from the residents association to having the machine charged from his individual meter. The 300-unit apartment community in Porur had only two EV users then. The association would go on to invest in a common charging point, which did not impress Kiruba as he found the rates to be on the higher side.

“We shifted from our own flat to a rented accommodation in Kolathur to be able to have EV charging at home as well as to enrol my daughter in a nearby school,” says Kiruba.

Kiruba would have loved to make use of a public charging station, but he found none within a five kilometre radius.

In the last six months, the EV landscape in Chennai has improved, EV charging infrastructure keeping pace with people’s openness to travelling electric.

Greater Chennai Corporation has started work on identifying locations for public EV charging stations across its 15 zones. Private players are parking EV charging stations near crowd-pulling establishments like malls and cafes.

“Currently, our preference is in establishing two-and-three wheeler charging points as many electric vehicles in these categories have hit the roads in the recent months, and the charging point for such vehicles is not yet universal,” says Sriram J, senior manager, charging infrastructure at Bolt.Earth.

The company has 97 public charging stations in Chennai and is in the process of establishing 10 more.