CESC considering business model for e-charging stations in Kolkata

Kolkata : Amid renewed focus on electric mobility to curb emissions across the country, power utility CESC Ltd is evaluating a business model for e-charging stations in the city, an official said on Thursday.

"The West Bengal government is contemplating electric ferries, then there are electric buses. Moving forward, cab service providers may also go electric. "We are evaluating a business model to understand how e-charging stations can be run," said company's Managing Director (Distribution) Debasish Banerjee.

The company is currently trying to understand the mechanism behind setting up and running such stations, he said at a seminar on urban mobility, organised by Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI).

According to TERI's Director General Ajay Mathur, a lot has been happening on electric mobility in the last couple of years across the country.

He said the Centre requested distribution companies to look into the infrastructure of charging stations which is the main issue of anxiety among those who wish to switch to electric cars.

The tender for electric buses conducted across 10 towns under the FAME 1 scheme has led to better price discovery, Mathur said.

For buses it is advised to have central charging at depots and for two wheeler its advised to provide charging infrastructure in housing societies using a card to charge or explore the idea of charge-swapping, he added.