51 EV chaging stations being built in 32 different places
KATHMANDU, AUGUST 31: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is building 51 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in 32 different locations in the country. For this purpose, grant assistance of Rs 380 million has already been floated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), according to Kulman Ghising, Managing Director, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).
While speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a fast charging station held at the headquarters of the NEA in Ratnapark yesterday, he said that these 51 charging stations in all seven provinces will be constructed under the electric vehicle charging infrastructure development project. Among them, 26 are meant for big buses, micros, trucks, pickups, and cars, and the remaining 25 are for small/big cars. The locations where the charging stations will be installed include main highways, bus parks, and big cities in all provinces.
A memorandum of understanding has been signed for the construction of charging stations at suitable locations of the proposed petrol pumps and offices operated by the Nepal Police and Armed Police Forces. The process of charging will cost an average of Rs 0.7 per km for cars, 0.8 Rs for SUVs, RS 0.9 for microbuses, and Rs 1.2 per kilometer for buses. Depending on the battery capacity of the vehicles available in Nepal, one can complete the charging in at least half an hour to 1 hour.
Each charging station has a 142 kW charger, a 50 kVA transformer for power supply, and an online billing system. To ensure prompt charging, the 60-60 kilowatt DC and 22 kilowatts AC chargers will be placed at the charging station. With this, three vehicles including big buses can be charged simultaneously.
A contract agreement equivalent to Rs 377 million was signed with Wangwang Digital Energy Corporation Ltd., Jiangsu, China for charging station construction, supply, installation, testing, operation, and maintenance. The charging station was built with the help of the Asian Development Bank.
The maintenance of the charging station will be carried out by the contractor company for 5 years of its operation. The software of the charging station will be kept in the authority’s data center to serve more than 300 chargers. All 51 stations will be controlled from Kathmandu. After charging the vehicle, the customer can pay the bill through the QR code and mobile app.
