Maharashtra: BPCL installs charging stations on six major highways for fast-charging of e-vehicles

Pune: To promote the use of Electric Vehicles, the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has installed EV charging stations on six major highways in Maharashtra.

In a press conference held recently, P.S. Ravi, Executive Director (Retail), BPCL said, “The EV fast chargers at BPCL Fuel Stations recharge EVs in just about 30 minutes, giving the driving range of up to 125 kilometres. Therefore the distance between the two such facilities on highways has been kept within 100 kilometres.”

He further said, “By March end 2023, 200 highways will be covered with Electric Vehicle Fast Chargers under the brand eDrive. As many as 400 such corridors by next year will cover almost every part of the country.”

Self-operated fast charges

All EV customers can use the EV fast charging stations via a pay-per-use online service. The fast chargers can be self-operated without any manual assistance, though support staff will be at hand when needed. 

The fast chargers follow the CCS-2 protocol and are a part of BPCL’s initiative to address the range anxiety of electric vehicle owners.

Here is a list of the six highways equipped with EV charging stations:

Pune-Ahmednagar-Aurangabad - 240 KMs

Pune-Solapur (4 ROs), 250 KMs

Pune- Nashik (4 ROs), 200 KMs

Pune-Kolhapur (3 RO s), 225 KMs

Mumbai- Nashik (3 RO s) 200KMs and

Nashik- Shirdi (3 RO s), 90 KMs