Bengaluru: State Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar has said that Bescom will soon set up charging stations for Electric Vehicles (EV) in the city. During the inauguration of the Fast Track New Connection (FTNC), also known as Savi Kirana, at the Bescom office in MG Road on Wednesday, Shivakumar said, “For the first time in the country, we are coming out with the EV charging stations, which will be inaugurated on February 15. For now, there will be one such station at the Bescom headquarters near K.R. Circle and later 11 more such stations will be added in six months. The locations for these stations are being identified. Each vehicle can be charged in about 25 to 30 minutes.”
These charging stations will be of great help to people using electric vehicles, as they need not fear running out of charge in their vehicles, he added. “We are focused on ensuring that these charging stations will be installed across the city and this will encourage people to use electric vehicles and protect the environment,” the minister added.
As for the rates for charging vehicles, the minister said, “We have written to the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC), who will decided and fix the rates.”Bescom Managaing Director Rajendra Cholan said, “We have decided that officers of executive engineers level and above will be provided with the electric vehicles, who can use for official purposes. These vehicles will be outsourced by a private company.”
New connection in 24 hrs
Bescom has launched Fast Track New Connection (FTNC) to facilitate power supply, transfer of names, change in tariff, addition and reduction of load with both online and offline. Helpdesks have been set up at all the sub-division of Bescom office and it will be a quick and transparent service up to 7.5 kilowatt in 24 hours. Mr Shivakumar told reporters, “We have introduced the FTNC in 48 sub division in Bengaluru. From March 1, it will be implemented in Bengaluru rural and Chitradurga. The system will have minimum documentation, without involvement of any contractor or agents. The consumers can use the FTNC for domestic and commercial connections.” After completing the wiring inside their house or building, the consumers can apply for a connection by uploading the required documents and identity proofs. Once the application is submitted successfully, the payment can be made and an acknowledgement number is sent to the registered mobile number, from where the consumer can track the progress. The Bescom officials will prepare the file and within 24 hours visit the place to install the meter. Other services like name change, tariff change and others can also be done in the similar manner. This can also be done through the newly launched Bescom Mitra app.
“We do not want consumer to waste time by visiting the office and this process will ease the work of both the consumer and officials. There will be no delay and work will be carried out with minimal process. People who are not tech savvy can also visit the sub-division and obtain the required applications and FTNC kit which will be available at the helpdesk,” the Minister added. Bescom MD Cholan added that earlier it used to take around 35 days to get a power connection, but through this new service, the consumers can get it within 24 hours.
