Tamil Nadu’s public electric vehicle charging stations used 8.77 million units of electricity from April to October 2024, according to the Central Electricity Authority. But this consumption is relatively low compared to other States.

In the April-October 2023 period, the consumption by public charging stations in the State was 1.882 MU.

As per the CEA data in April-October 2024, Delhi had the maximum electricity consumption by the vehicle charging stations at 206.23 MU, followed by Maharashtra (108.13 MU) and Gujarat (36.34 MU).

Tamil Nadu is an electric vehicle hub, with around 40% of the EV four-wheelers and close to 70% of the EV two-wheelers sold in the country are made in the State.

According to data from Climate Trends, Tamil Nadu’s EV sales stood at 92,978 units in the calendar year 2024, with penetration at 5.05%. The State ranks fourth in terms of volume of sales after Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, it said.

In calendar year 2024, electric two-wheeler was the highest selling segment in Tamil Nadu with sales of 79,849 units accounting for 5.58% penetration rate. In calendar year 2023, Tamil Nadu’s electric vehicle penetration stood at 4.94% with volume at 90,242 units. In 2023, the State ranked fifth in terms of volume of sales after Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan.

“The Electric Vehicles (EV) Public Charging Stations (PCS) Monthly Power Consumption Report is one of the key sources that reflect the trends of power consumption in various states,” Archit Fursule, research associate, e-mobility, Climate Trends, said.

“Tamil Nadu’s total consumption is far less than that of leading States like Delhi and Maharashtra. This reflects that Tamil Nadu is lagging behind. No data is available for heavy-duty PCS, which suggests that there might be a lack of infrastructure or reporting, indicating a need for increased EV infrastructure and awareness or incentives to boost the adoption and use of EVs and charging stations in the State,” he said.

A Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) report titled ‘Electric Vehicle Public Charging Infrastructure: 2030 Roadmap’ released last month pointed out that the Tamil Nadu government is identifying sites for PCS in government offices, public places, and Smart City missions, ensuring broad accessibility.

The State government plans to establish 2,500 EV charging stations by 2025, strategically located at intervals of 25 km on major highways, it said. The FICCI report also pointed out that current financial viability for public charging stations in India remains low at less than 2 per cent utilization rates and to achieve profitability and scalability, it should increase to 8-10 per cent utilization by 2030.

It also stressed on the need to shift to a single electricity tariff for charging stations which is consistent across States from two-part tariff (which includes a fixed and variable tariff).