KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 6

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has officially inaugurated 51 advanced fast charging stations for electric vehicles across various locations in the country.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet, and Secretary Dinesh Kumar Ghimire jointly inaugurated the fast charging station situated at Nepal Police Club, Bhrikutimandap.

These charging stations, built with investments of the authority, concessional loans from the Asian Development Bank, and technical support from the Norwegian government, are strategically placed along major highways, bus parks, and cities across seven provinces as part of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure development project.

Of the 51 stations, 26 are designed to charge a range of vehicles, from big buses and micros to trucks, pickups, while the remaining 25 cater to small and large cars.

Minister Basnet emphasised the significance of putting these charging stations into operation, highlighting their role in promoting sustainable development by reducing carbon emissions and combating climate change through clean energy consumption.

'The government is also actively working on policy and legal frameworks to encourage electric vehicle adoption and attract investors to manufacture electric vehicles in Nepal,' he said.

Energy Secretary Ghimire underscored the potential for electric vehicles to increase per capita energy consumption, given the importance of the transport sector in driving internal electricity demand.

Kulman Ghising, managing director of the authority, stressed the role of these charging stations in encouraging use of electric vehicles.

He pointed out that electric vehicles are significantly more cost-effective than those running on petroleum and can positively impact Nepal's foreign exchange reserves. The NEA is planning to establish an additional 500 charging stations across the nation.

Sujata Gupta, head of South Asia Energy Division of the ADB, highlighted the importance of infrastructure development in encouraging electric vehicle adoption, highlighting the transportation sector's role in reducing carbon emissions.

Charging costs are expected to be affordable, with an average of 70 paisa per kilometre for cars, 80 paisa for SUVs, 90 paisa for microbuses, and 120 paisa per kilometre for buses. Depending on the battery capacity of the vehicles in Nepal, charging can be completed in as little as half an hour to one hour.

Each station features 142-kilowatt capacity charger, 50 kVA transformer for power supply, and an online charging system.

They include DC chargers of 60-60 kilowatts and 22 kilowatts of AC chargers, allowing up to three vehicles, including big buses, to be charged simultaneously.

A contract was signed with Wangwang Digital Energy Corporation Ltd, Jiangsu, China, for the construction, supply, installation, testing, operation, and maintenance of the charging stations, amounting to Rs 370.79 million (excluding tax). The contractor company will be responsible for maintaining the charging stations for five years of operation, with the station's software hosted in the authority's data centre.

All 51 stations will be centrally controlled from Kathmandu, and customers can pay their bills through QR codes and mobile apps.

A version of this article appears in the print on September 07, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.