EVs being the hottest trend, want to know how much it costs to host an EV charging station in Assam? We have provided here a detailed description of the process.
The recent rise in EV penetration in some parts of the northeast region is due to its efficiency, cheaper energy costs, less maintenance, and better overall performance.
EVs in India gained significant momentum after GOI introduced several policies and schemes like FAME I & FAME II to subsidize EV owners and manufacturers. A major decision to de-license the EV charging stations gave a breakthrough to the EV charging industry in India.
Inlining with the GOI policies, the Government of Assam introduced a five-year period electric vehicle policy to subsidize the EV buyers and the EV charging station providers in Assam.
With this policy, the Government of Assam plans to support the deployment of the first two lakh electric vehicles and a 25% capital subsidy on charging station equipment over the next five years in Assam.
Major Highlights: Assam EV Charging Policy
The government of Assam introduced the Assam EV policy in late 2021 considering the growth of EVs in the state. Here are some highlights:
- Creating a demand for charging infrastructure in Assam by deploying two lakh electric vehicles by 2026.
- 25% capital subsidy on charging station machinery for the first 500 charging stations in Assam.
- 90% exemption from electricity duty for EV charging stations in Assam during the five-year period.
READ: State-Wise electric Vehicle policy in India. Check yours here
Why Invest in EV charging stations in Assam?
With the EV policy in place, the Government of Assam has taken on an ambitious target of electrifying 100% of public transport by 2030. By 2026 the policy envisaged that 25% of newly registered vehicles will be EVs in Assam. As Guwahati is the largest city in Assam, the Assam government has agreed to approve 200 electric buses and 100 CNC-operated buses in the city.
A rise in the number of EVs in the state post the incentives and subsidies is likely to create a demand for EV charging stations in Assam. So it is the best time to invest in EV charging stations in Assam.
How to set up an electric vehicle charging station in Assam?
The Central government has de-licensed the setting up of public charging stations, in other words, any individual can set up a public EV charging station as long as they are able to meet the technical specification laid down by the government. Here are some steps to start an EV charging station business in Assam. We have discussed all the mentioned steps further down the article.
1. Understand the basics
Before hosting an EV charging station, understand the EV charging station industry in Assam. Understand the EV charger types, Feasibility of business, and major policies and subsidies for Charge Point Operators (CPO). Don’t worry, we have got you covered. Read further to understand the entire model.
2. Market Research
Before getting into any business thorough market research is a must to understand the Return on Investment, requirements, and other risk analysis of the business.
Below we have discussed the policies and subsidies, cost to set up charging stations, EV charger providers in Assam, Revenue model, and Financial projections for charging station business in Assam.
3. Identify Location for Installation
There are certain guidelines set by GOI to install an EV charging station for businesses to be certified. If you want to host a charging station do market research to see places with a higher number of EVs or connecting highways with EV traffic.
4. Charging station provider
Finding a reliable EV charging station provider is very important for the EV charging business, as it involves hardware and software to run a CPO business. Below we have discussed some of the trusted and State certified EV charger providers in Assam.
Types of EV charging stations.
Level 1 charger is a relatively slow EV charger that comes along with the vehicle for overnight charging. Level 1 chargers take around 8-10 hours to fully charge EVs, so it is not feasible for business.
Level 2 EV Charger
Compared to Level 1, it is pretty fast and can fully charge your EV in under 4 hours. Rated at 240 volts, installation of additional hardware is necessary for the Level 2 charging station.
LEVEL 3 EV chargers
The Level 3 charging stations are also called DC Fast chargers. The public charging stations are the Level 3 charging stations. Rated at 480 volts, it takes less than an hour to supercharge an electric vehicle up to 80%
Mostly used and government-approved EV charger connector types are the CCS2 (DC) and Bharat AC001 (AC)
Cost to set up an EV charging station in Assam
You might be wondering how much does electric car charging station set up costs in Assam? Here’s the answer
The cost to set up an EV charging station in Assam varies from Rs. 3 Lakhs-25 Lakhs depending on the type of charger and investment one is willing to make.
There are several variables that add to the cost of charging station setup like the CMS, EVSE, transformer, Infrastructure, electrification, and the type of Charger one wants to install.
| Charger Type | Cost Estimate |
|---|---|
| CCS (30kW) | Rs. 15,00,000 |
| Type 2 AC ( 7/22 kW) | Rs. 3,00,000-5,00,000 |
| Bharat DC-001 | Rs. 3,00,000 |
| Bharat AC-001 | Rs. 1,00,000 |
Several other factors play a role in the overall cost of Electric vehicle charging station installation in Assam:
- Civil Works: 50,000
- EVSE software: 60,000
- New Electricity connection
- Land Lease ( If required)
The tariff for new third-party-owned EV charging infrastructure shall be as per the AERC tariff order for utilities. But considering the nationwide tariff for EV charging the base charger would be 19/kW. The same will be applicable in Assam till a solid EV policy is released.
How does an EV charging station make money?
The tariff for EV charging differs from state to state according to the state EV policy. Government of Assam in its recent EV policy settled on a DISCOM tariff of Rs 5.75-6.76 per kW for EV charging (Published in the Handbook for EV charging infrastructure implementation).
The government of Assam’s Electricity charge for EV charging is Rs 5.75-6.75
Profit from an electric vehicle charging station in Assam is calculated based on the following assumptions:
- The vehicle being charged is a Tata Nexon EV with a battery capacity of 30kw
- The vehicle comes to the station in need of 25 kW of charge.
- Discom tariff being Rs 6/kW (approx) and Public EV charging cost 20kW
- Yearly EVSE & maintenance cost is deducted(minimal)
Calculation:
- Discom tariff – Rs. 150
- Public charging Cost – Rs. 500
- Profit – Rs. 340
| Values | Price |
|---|---|
| DIscom Tariff | Rs. 150 |
| Public Charging cost | Rs. 500 |
| Profit | Rs. 350 |
Revenue from a charging station depends state-wise according to its EV policy, In Assam profit from charging a single Electric car is Rs 350/hr.
Financial projections for EV charging station business in Northeast Assam.
Financial projections and revenue models for an EV charging station depend on the project type. Financial Projection and profit from an EV charging station in Assam are calculated based on two scenarios:
- Standalone slow & fast EV charger
- EV slow & fast charger along with food kiosk or coffee shop.
Revenue projection/profit and loss from an electric vehicle charging station:
The yearly revenue projection is calculated based on the following assumptions:
- Calculated on a yearly basis and 10 cars per day visit the station(Current Stage)
- Public charging cost is estimated to be 20/kW and the car arrives in need of 25kW of charge.
- EVSE costs Rs 60,000 per year.
- The number of incoming vehicles increases by 5 each year.
Profit from charging one electric car up to 80% = Rs 350
Yearly financial projections:
| Description | Year 1 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|
| EV Charging tariff | Rs. 18,00,000 | Rs. 36,00,000 |
| EV Discom tariff (-) | Rs. 5,40,000 | Rs. 10,80,000 |
| EVSE & Maintenance (-) | Rs. 1,00,000 | Rs. 1,00,000 |
| Profit | Rs. 11,60,000 | Rs. 24,30,000 |
- Depreciation, wear & tear, and tax are not included.
- Additional 8 Lakhs yearly profit in adding a small food kiosk or cafe.
Return on investment (ROI) from an EV charging station business in Assam:
Return on investment from an EV charging station completely depends on the project type. A stand-alone charging station without any amenities can break even and start getting the returns second year onwards.
ROI from a charging station with added amenities like a food Kiosk is far more than a stand-alone EV charger. Utilization of time while charging EVs can bring business to EV charging station owners.
Graph of EV charging breakeven point
Minimum requirements for EV charging infrastructure in Assam.
The recent notification released by the government of India has highlighted all the necessary requirements as well as the guidelines. Minimum requirements to set up an EV charging station in Assam are:
- In terms of infrastructure, every Public Charging Station must have a transformer with all related equipment.
- Along with that equipment, there should be 33/11 KV line/cables. It is needed for line termination, metering, etc.
- There should be enough space for the entry and exit of the vehicles.
- There should be a minimum of three fast chargers. These 3 fast chargers are CCS, CHAdeMo, and Type-2 AC.
- There should also be two slow charge points – a Bharat DC-001 (15 kW/ 72-200V) and a Bharat AC-001 (10 kW/ 230V)
Electric vehicle charging station providers in Assam.
As of now, there are not many charging station providers in Assam except Tata Power installed its own charging station. Homegrown brand ‘ECOCHARGE” has started installing state-of-the EV chargers for anyone to start an EV charging business in Assam as well.
Ecocharge
Formed out of the parent company-ecogears, Ecocharge is the leading startup in Assam providing a full EV charging ecosystem. As of now, ecocharge managed to install 13 slow chargers across the state with the vision of 100 chargers by end of this year. Ecocharge provides all three types of chargers- DC slow, AC slow, and DC Fast.
Tata Power
With the support of government and local authorities, Tata power installed a DC fast charger in the Azara area, Guwahati. The company plans to install its own EV charging station in the state as the number of vehicles increases.
I am interested
Hello Mr. Mustafa Laskar,
Glad to know about your interest in opening an EV charging station in India.
We have sent you a step by step guide to set up a charger.
Regards Ecogears
I think this is a very simplistic assessment of EV charging , without looking into traffic density, no of evs in the capital… interest rate of loans, subsidies etc….
The figures are based on our existing projects in south and may not exactly be the same in Assam. However we always try to give a possible scenario to make people understand the future opportunities and adapt it right now.
-Team ecogears