EV Owners Will Need Separate Power Connection in Madhya Pradesh

In what is a being marketed as an EV friendly move, the Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company says that electric vehicle owners who set up charging stations will have separate power connections from the company. The provision will be applicable in all the 16 districts that come under the jurisdiction of Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company.

Subsequently, the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (MPERC) too has fixed the electricity rates separately for the charging stations meant for the electric vehicles.

The Madhya Pradesh Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy is also aimed at promoting electric mobility which is necessary for material improvement in the air quality in Madhya Pradesh. The transport sector is one of the key air pollution sources in the country and bringing down vehicular emission is a priority of the EV Policy.

Hence, the EV Policy of the state looks to drive rapid adoption of EVs in such a way that by 2026 they make 25% of all new public transport vehicles registrations. The EV Policy also wants to convert all commercial and logistic fleets to 100% electric fleet by 2028.

The state government has completed all formalities before making it mandatory to have a separate electricity connection for EV charging stations. It is being viewed as a new approach for faster adoption of electric vehicles in Madhya Pradesh as it removes many of the hurdles for EV customers.

A communication plan will also be developed by the government for driving awareness among the people. The plan will revolve around apprising masses about the benefits of electric vehicles’ adoption and the key elements of the Madhya Pradesh EV Policy. The new policy wants those measures in place that could lead to job creation in the segments of driving, selling, financing, servicing, charging and manufacturing of electric vehicles.

In October, Transport Commissioner of Madhya Pradesh Mukesh Jain had said that there is a need to make electric transport mandatory to protect the environment and reduce carbon emissions. Madhya Pradesh also offers road tax exemption for a fixed number of electric vehicles in each vehicle segment. It levies a reduced road tax of 4% on EVs.