More e-vehicle charging points to come up in Tamil Nadu; existing stations see low customer turnout

With the Centre pushing for the use of green fuels, more electric vehicle charging stations are to come up in the State this financial year. Indian Oil Corporation alone will add 600 stations, Bharat Petroleum Corporation will add 440 stations, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation will bring in 150 more stations. The State already has 1,000 working electric vehicle charging stations.  

Sources in the state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) said that these are to be added to existing petrol bunks. “There are adequate charging stations along highways and in urban areas too. Car manufacturers have a dedicated mobile app for use in charging stations and when a car drives into a retail outlet, the location is identified and after charging, the amount is debited,” explained an official source.  

However, fuel pump operators said that they were not getting any income out of e-vehicle charging stations. “We have had this facility for over seven months, but till date not even one customer has come in asking for the charging station. We dont even know how to operate the equipment. The OMC just installed the charger here. But if a car is parked here, we will not have space for other vehicles,” said dealer.  

Another dealer said that e-vehicle owners/drivers preferred to charge their vehicles at home or at points where they stopped for a break like hotels or parks. “In the US, charging stations are provided in places like malls, theatres, parks, play areas for children and restaurants, where time can be spent usefully. Here if charging stations are set up at bunks there is nothing for the drivers to do. They charge for 15- 20 minutes when about 70% of charging happens,” he said.  

Meanwhile, after the successful trial run of the upgrading the Chennai – Tiruchi Highway to an electric highway, the National Highways for Electric Vehicles (NHEV), land acquisition is underway for setting up charging stations every 50 km for vehicles along five highways in the State. “The lands are being taken up on lease for atleast 20 years. In this model, being implemented by the Ease of Doing Business programme, fleet operators would be encouraged to buy e-vehicles that are manufactured as highway edition models with cameras and trackers ,” explained a source in the NHEV, which will roll out the project by April – May 2026.