EV charging to cost 30% more at night in Kerala under new rules

If you are a Kerala resident planning to buy an electric vehicle to save costs, then this news may surprise you. As per a new regulation, it will now cost you more to charge your electric vehicle at night. The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued new regulations revising the Time of Day (ToD) billing for electric vehicles, under which, charging at night will cost you an additional 30 per cent.

EV Charging at night: Solar Period vs Non-Solar Period

The state electric regulation commission has divided the charging exercise into two time zones. The first time zone, called the ‘solar period’ falls between 9 am and 4 pm. EV users using state charging during this time zone will be billed at 30 per cent than the standard rates. On the other hand, if you are charging your EV between 4 pm and 9 am, called the ‘non-solar period’, you will have to pay 30 per cent more than the standard tariff rate. Do note, the tariff changes are applicable to charging stations and not home chargers.

The regulatory commission decided to revise the charges after the new guidelines regarding functioning of EV charging stations were released by the central government. At present, Kerala has three zones for ToD billing. It starts from 6 am to 6 pm, 6 pm to 10 pm, and finally, 10 pm to 6 am. This will be revised to two zones, going forward.

If you were to spend ₹100 to charge the vehicle at standard rates, it will cost 30 per cent less, costing ₹70 during the solar period. Similarly, charging an EV at night costs a premium of 30 per cent or ₹130 over the standard tariff rate, during the non-solar period.

Discouraging charging at night

The move is being made to discourage charging at night and use the solar period, which will have a lesser impact on the grid overall. At present, the charging stations using solar power operate more effectively during the daytime as they generate maximum power between 9 am and 4 pm. However, if the power is not utilised, it is effectively lost with only 53 per cent of the power supplied to the grid between 4 pm and 9 am.

While the move aims to encourage daytime charging, it also needs to be noted that most users tend to drive or ride their EVs in the day and leave it for charging at night. Nevertheless, those with flexible charging hours, will be able to maximise on the solar period concession, saving further on their EV running costs. It'll be interesting to see if the move turns out to be successful for the state. At the same time, it could warrant other states to apply similar regulations.

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