 "10% of country's fuel pumps now offer EV charging facilities, IOCL leads")
Close to 9,000 or 10 per cent of fuel pumps across the country now offer charging stations for electric vehicles (EV), The Economic Times (ET) has reported. The number of charging stations in the country is growing as fuel-pump owners have taken note of the rise in demand for alternative energy facilities.
There were 8,853 fuel pumps with charging facilities available at the beginning of June 2023. The number of charging stations has grown more than 2.5 times from the last year when it was 3,434, the ET reported citing data from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry.
The impressive rise in the number of charging stations is a result of the government push which has become increasingly tilted towards electric vehicles. This, combined with the realisation by the companies that it is important to set up the required infrastructure to make the shift quick and smooth has helped the jump in the number of charging stations, an industry expert said.
Speaking on the subject, an official told ET that more charging facilities within cities and highways will diminish the range anxiety associated with electric vehicles and will make it easier for potential EV owners to make the shift. Charging infrastructure development plays a key role here and can accelerate the electrification of mobility, the official added.
As things stand, Indian Oil Corporation, the largest operator of petrol pumps has the highest number of pumps that have EV charging facilities. 5,600 IOCL pumps offer EV charging facilities which come at about 15 per cent of its total 36,400 fuel pumps across the country.
Another PSU, HPCL, the second-largest petrol pump operator has 2,100 fuel pumps with charging facilities. BPCL has 738 of its total 21,100 fuel pumps offering EV charging facilities, the report said.
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Private fuel-pump operators, which include Reliance-BP, Nayara Energy, and Shell together operate only 8,300 pumps, which are less than 10 per cent of 87,000 pumps in the country. Only 28 of 1,586 Reliance-BP fuel pumps offer charging facilities. Similarly, Nayara and Shell also have a very small number of such pumps to their credit.
Indian Oil, HPCL, and BPCL plan to have EV charging facilities at their 22,000 fuel pumps over the next few years. Indian Oil alone aims to have 10,000 pumps with EV charging facilities by 2024. HPCL, on the other hand, plans to set up 5,000 EV stations by 2025, ET reported.