The Indian government has suggested new rules to shorten the approval process for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Approval times will decrease to three days in metropolitan areas from seven to seven days in municipal areas from 15 and to 15 days in rural areas from 30. The proposed guidelines also recommend an online single-window clearance system to expedite the process.
The government has unveiled proposals to streamline the process for securing electricity connections for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Under the revised terms, the timeframe for obtaining such connections in metropolitan areas will be reduced from seven days to three days and in municipal areas from 15 days to seven days, as per amendments to the Electricity Rules.
The draft revised guidelines, issued by the power ministry on Monday, outline a more expedient process for charge point operators in rural areas as well, where the approval time will be cut from 30 days to 15 days. Stakeholders have been given 30 days to submit their feedback on these draft guidelines. According to the new norms, distribution companies are required to develop a user-friendly online single-window clearance system to accelerate the provision of electricity connections to EV charging stations.
Additionally, state nodal agencies and municipal authorities are tasked with conducting annual assessments of the geographic distribution of potential EV charging demand to better address infrastructure needs.
The guidelines also maintain the current tariff structure for electricity supplied to EV charging stations, which will continue as a single-part tariff and not exceed the “average cost of supply” until March 31, 2026. The proposed cost of supply by the distribution licensee to EV charging stations will be 0.7 times the average cost during solar hours and 1.3 times during non-solar hours.
Another significant change proposed in the draft norms is the density and distance requirements between two charging stations. By fiscal year 2030, the guidelines suggest that at least one charging station should be available within a 1 km x 1 km grid in urban areas, a considerable enhancement from the previous requirement of a 3 km x 3 km grid. Moreover, it is proposed that a charging station be established every 20 km on both sides of highways and major roads.
The draft also specifies that separate metering arrangements should be implemented at EV charging stations, enabling the recording and billing of consumption according to the applicable tariff for EV charging stations.
