In a bid to contribute towards the establishment of a robust electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in Delhi, the electricity-providing company BSES has inaugurated a charging station. Located at BSES Grid-Sub Station, South Extension Part II, the charging station has been christened as Blue Smart Charge. It can juice-up two EVs simultaneously and has been set-up in a partnership with Gensol Charge Pvt. Ltd. and Techperspect.

The charging station, which was inaugurated by Delhi’s Power Minister Satyendar Jain, is the first of 50 that will go operational before the current fiscal year comes to a close. BSES says that it has entered into partnerships with several players to install over 150 smart EV charging stations across its licensed territory.

To keep the tediousness to the minimum, all BSES EV charging stations will have something called an ‘analytic platform’. The said tech, BSES claims, will make life easier for consumers. How? Through a mobile app called ElectreeFi, an EV owner can locate the nearest charging station. Additionally, he/she can make advance online booking and even pay online through multiple options such as e-wallet, BHIM, UPI and Credit/Debit cards.

Then comes the point of the cost of charging. BSES claims that the end-to-end cost, including parking charges, recovery of equipment and electricity tariff, should fall between Rs 160 and Rs 200 for a full charge. The per kilometre cost, as per the company’s calculations, falls between Rs 1.6-1.8, which is significantly less than any other vehicle with a conventional engine under the bonnet. The icing on top of the cake is there will be no local emissions from the vehicle. Also, an EV can cut over 8 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.

Weirdly, BSES hasn’t given out any specifications for the EV charging station. And neither has it mentioned what it took as an example to calculate all those numbers mentioned above. So, we don’t know whether the charging station has the capability of rapid charging and even if it does, how compatible will it be with the EVs currently available in India.