After no bidders, govt drops plan to set up 2.5k EV charging stations

Time of India

4 hours ago

Bengaluru: Citing poor response from private agencies, Karnataka has scrapped an ambitious plan to set up 2,500 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the state under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
As an alternative, the govt has tasked Bescom with setting up 100 EV charging stations. Bescom will have to fund the estimated Rs 35-crore project.
The decision was formalised through a govt order issued on June 16, following a detailed report from the managing director of Bescom, the project's nodal agency.
N Shivashankar, Bescom MD, said the agency floated tenders six times but failed to attract bidders. "No one showed interest," he said.
"Bescom will now continue to set up EV charging stations to encourage purchase of EVs in the state."
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He said "many" EV charging stations were established under the PPP model in Bengaluru and that Karnataka currently leads the country with 5,879 EV charging stations as of March 28, 2025. Over 4,000 of these are in Bengaluru alone.
The failed 2,500-station project was originally announced in the 2024-25 state budget. A previous attempt in 2023-24 to set up 585 stations in nine districts also fell through despite work orders being issued to select bidders in Oct 2023.
In 2024-25, tenders were floated again to establish 605 stations across 22 districts, but no interest was shown in 18 districts and only one bidder came forward in the other four.
In his report, Shivashankar cited five key reasons for the project's failure including lack of support from govt departments in helping private firms secure land. "The departments concerned did not cooperate with private agencies that received work orders to get required land for charging stations," he states.
Additionally, limited EV penetration beyond Bengaluru was identified as a major deterrent. "The use of EVs is still not up to the mark in the state except in Bengaluru city. So private individuals did not turn up to establish charging stations," Shivashankar states.