Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has said that the process of construction of 52 charging stations in different parts of the country has moved ahead. Spokesperson of Nepal Electricity Authority Suresh Kumar Bhattarai informed that work is underway to complete the construction process by April 2022.

NEA and Chinese company Wanbang Digital Energy had reached an agreement last April to build charging stations. Now, an agreement has been reached to complete all the work within a year. According to NEA, those 52 stations will be built in 33 different places of the country. NEA has stated that it has given priority to the busy roads of the country.

Two charging stations will be set up at Mahendranagar Bus Park in Kanchanpur. Similarly, NEA has informed that one station will be set up at NEA’s office in Attaria, Kailali and another at Lamki Bus Park. There will be one in Kohalpur of Banke, two in Surkhet Bus Park, two in Tamahi Refresh Center in Dang and one in Ghorahi.

According to NEA, there will be two stations at Chandrauta in Kapilvastu, one at Saina Maina in Rupandehi, two at Butwal Bus Park, two at Nawalparasi Bardaghat, two at Pokhara’s Tourist Bus Park and one at Lakeside. Similarly, Five charging stations will be built in Chitwan. There will be two in Paras Bus Park, one in Bharatpur and two near Muglin Bridge. There will be two stations in Hetauda Bus Park in Makwanpur.

There will be six charging stations in Kathmandu Valley. There will be one in the New Bus Park, two in the airport, two in NEA’s central office and one in Balkhu. Similarly, there will be one each in Banepa and Dhulikhel Bus Park. Moreover, there will be two stations at Khurkot in Sindhuli and one each in Mahottari and Hariwon.

There will be two stations each in Nijgadh in Bara and Lahan Bus Park. There will also be two stations at Belka in Udayapur. A charging station will be constructed at Itahari in Sunsari. There will be two stations in Biratnagar, two stations at Damak Bus Park in Jhapa and one at Birtamod.

While charging the vehicle at the charging station, the fee has to be paid as per the Electricity Tariff Collection Regulations-2077. The charging fee has been fixed separately as per the provisions in the regulations.

If you want to charge a vehicle from 5 pm to 11 pm during peak hours, you have to pay a fee of seven rupees per hour. Pick-off time, from 11 pm to 5 am, the fee is 70 paisa per hour. At other times, from 5 am to 5 pm, there is a provision to pay a fee of Rs 5.50 per hour. The time to charge the vehicle depends on the battery capacity of the vehicle. According to NEA, the electrical capacity of a charging station will be 142 kW. It is mentioned that up to three vehicles can be charged from one station at a time.

The agreement stipulates that the project will be funded by the Asian Development Bank at a cost of Rs 377.9 million. An agreement has been reached to carry out maintenance work for five years from the same contractor company.

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Image for reference only. Image courtesy: The Rising Nepal