KATHMANDU, AUGUST 30
A fast charging station for electric vehicles built by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has come into operation.
Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal inaugurated the modern fast charging station built at NEA's head office in Ratnapark today.
Stating that transport is a pivotal sector for increasing domestic electricity consumption, Minister Bhusal said that the operation of charging stations is a revolution in the energy sector.
"Domestic electricity consumption has increased by about 22 per cent, which will gradually decrease fossil-fuel dependency," said Bhusal.
"This will reduce the trade deficit and help build a self-sustaining economy."
Stating that use of electric vehicles was unthinkable earlier during load-shedding, NEA's Managing Director Kulman Ghising said it is a milestone to end power cuts and increase domestic electricity consumption.
"To encourage the use of electric vehicles, a concessional fee has been set for charging stations, but there have been complaints that the charging stations run by the private sector are charging more than the prescribed tariff and electric vehicles charge the same fare as vehicles running on fossil fuels," Ghising said.
Meanwhile, the authority in a bid to encourage the use of electric vehicles is currently constructing charging stations under the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Development Project at 51 locations across the nation, including major highways, bus parks and big cities in all seven provinces.
Among them, 26 charging stations will be used for big buses, micros, trucks, pickups, while 25 for small and big cars.
Recently, a memorandum of understanding was signed for the construction of charging stations at suitable locations of petrol pumps and offices operated by the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force.
Every charging station being built by the authority will be equipped with a 142 kW charger, a 50 kVA transformer for power supply, and an online billing system.
Fast charging 60-60 kilowatt DC and 22 kilowatt AC chargers will be placed at the charging stations where three vehicles, including big buses, can be charged at one time.
The software of the charging stations that can provide service to more than 300 chargers will be placed in the NEA's data centre. All the 50 stations will be controlled from the capital city. Customers will be able to make payments for charging their vehicles using QR code and mobile app.
A contract was signed with Wangwang Digital Energy Corporation Ltd, Jiangsu, China for Rs 377.79 million (excluding tax) for construction of the charging stations, supply, installation, testing, operation and maintenance. The charging stations are being built with the support of the Asian Development Bank.
The maintenance of the charging stations will be done by the contractor company for five years from the date of commencement of operation.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 31, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
