CII urges making open access almost free for EV charging from renewable energy

Industry body CII has called for making open access almost free for charging electric vehicles from renewable energy sources like solar and wind, reports news agency PTI. CII has said in a statement that it is calling for an early policy notification for facilitating the sourcing of power from renewable green sources for charging electric vehicles.

CII also explained that this is especially required at the standalone charging point level as currently, it is not feasible under the ambit of prevailing electricity regulation where a minimum of one MW load at the point of consumption is needed to avail power under open access. The industry body also said that no EV charging station would be requiring the power of this order at one location during the initial 10 years. It is, therefore, prudent to lower the threshold of open access for sourcing power from green sources like solar, it pointed out.

CII among other industry bodies has been seeking such policy measures, which were reflected in various state government EV policies where they articulated for encouraging power supply through open access.

Taking cognizance of such need and demand, the Ministry of Power issued a draft notification on 16th August 16 last year, titled "Draft Electricity (promoting renewable energy through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2021", seeking comments from various stakeholders. The draft rule provides for lowering the threshold for sourcing power from green sources to 100 KW. It would catapult the transition of the transportation ecosystem from fossil fuel to green electricity, believes the ministry. The CII has also urged the Power Ministry to finalise the rule as more than six months have elapsed.