From June, Electric Vehicle Owners Can Charge Their Cars Free Of Cost In Noon

ElectriVa, an EV charging start-up, has taken up this initiative of free afternoon charge to EV users and has launched over 40 public charging stations in partnership with the three civic bodies

Rates for EV charging during the morning and evening hours for per unit charge is kept at Rs 10. Image: Getty

New Delhi: Electric vehicle (EV) owners in Delhi can charge their vehicle free of cost between 12 noon and 3 pm at over 40 public charging stations across the national capital from June onwards.

According to a report by the PTI, this move is aimed at promoting the use of EVs and also to incentivise EV charging at public stations, authorities said.

ElectriVa, an EV charging start-up, has taken up this initiative of free afternoon charge to EV users. The company has launched over 40 public charging stations in partnership with the three civic bodies in Delhi.

According to the report, authorities aware of the initiative said that the free charging will be provided at 35 charging stations operational along the ring road at locations, including South Extension, Bikaji Cama Place, Defence Colony, Lajpat Nagar, Mayur Vihar, Netaji Subhash Place, South Campus, Nelson Mandela Road, Hauz Khas, Green Park, Greater Kailash, Punjabi Bagh, Rohini, Saket, Shalimar Bagh, Preet Vihar among others.

Usually, rates for EV charging during the morning and evening hours for per unit charge is kept at Rs 10.

Sumit Dhanuka, founder, ElectriVa, said, “We will provide charging to all commercial and non-commercial EV users for free between 12 noon and 3 pm. By providing free charging during afternoon hours, we want to bolster the EV ecosystem in the national capital. Presently, it is important to incentivise public charging to make people switch from fossil fuel to electric vehicles.”

He said that ElectriVa will set up a charging station every three kilometres in Delhi and locations have already been allotted by the three civic bodies.

The penetration of electric vehicles in the automobile sector in Delhi has grown in the last few years. According to government data, around 10 per cent of the total vehicles purchased in the city this year (January-March) so far, are electric vehicles.

So far, around 10,707 EVs were registered in 2022 between January and March 14 and out of this 5,888 were e-two wheelers (e-bike and e-scooter), data showed.