Tariff for EV charging stations to be reduced by 50%

CHENNAI: To promote renewable energy usage for charging electric vehicles (EV), the State government has proposed to reduce energy charges for EV charging stations by 50% from 8 am to 4 pm to incentivise charging during non-peak hours.

In the new EV policy 2023, the government announced that to support the growth of public charging stations, the government should revise the demand and energy tariffs, with approval from Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (Tangedco).

It proposed to reduce the existing demand charges by 75% for the first two years and thereafter by 50% for the subsequent two years. In the case of energy charges, it seeks to reduce them by 50% between 8 am and 4 pm to incentivise charging with the use of renewable energy during non-peak hours.

A senior Tangedco official said that the move to reduce energy charges for EV charging stations during daytime was to ensure the use of solar energy. “We’ve more solar generation during the day, and it’s cheap too. Through tariff reduction, we can encourage EV users to charge their vehicles using solar power and avoid charging in the evening and overnight,” the official added.

The policy said that the supply of renewable energy should be ensured to public/private charging stations and public battery swapping stations on a preferential basis with applicable TNERC levies.

The State has introduced a renewable energy-based ‘Green tariff’ for HT services. This would be an additional 10% over the HT category’s respective tariffs. “EV charging service providers shall be encouraged to set up their own renewable energy generating stations at their premises for charging EVs,” it added.

Dwarkadas Suresh, popularly known as Solar Suresh, said that the government should insist that public charging stations set up their own renewable energy generation stations. “Providing concession to conventional energy provides only a partial solution to the pollution caused by fossil fuel,” he added.