Highrise buildings in Bengaluru may soon have to set up charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. At the inauguration of Bescom’s second public-charging station at the KERC premises on Millers Road on Monday, Bescom Managing Director C Shikha said: “We will send a proposal to the urban development department through KERC to make provisions for charging points at highrise buildings.”
Sources said highrises including shopping malls, apartment complexes and hotels, mostly above 15m tall with good footfall, will have to create space for electric vehicles and charging facilities once the proposal is approved.
KERC chairman MK Shankarlinge Gowda said electric vehicles are the future since prices of fossil fuel like diesel and petrol will only increase.
Bescom will set up 11 charging stations across the city in six months, and has identified places like Peenya, Mathikere, Yelahanka, Banaswadi, Indiranagar, HAL II Stage, Mahadevapura and Murugeshpalya. “We’ll finalize tender in a month,” said an official.
As part of the Karnataka Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy 2017, Bescom set up a charging station at its corporate office in KR Circle that has 2 DC fast chargers and 1 AC slow one. It has hired five electric vehicles for corporate use. The rate fixed is Rs 4.85 per unit at these charging points.
