Phase II of the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme in Kerala, for which the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) recently submitted its proposal to the Centre, is expected to see more private participation.
The KSEB has proposed establishing 315 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across 277 locations in Phase II. The power utility, which is the State nodal agency for the PM E-DRIVE Scheme, has sought a total subsidy of ₹60 crore for this phase.
According to the KSEB, the proposed charger mix favours high-capacity infrastructure, with 245 units of 120 kW and 43 units of 240 kW chargers, alongside 27 units of 60 kW chargers.
The second phase focuses on leveraging private capital and land through the Charge Point Operator (CPO)-driven expression of interest (EoI) route to rapidly scale up charger density across Kerala.
Notably, 299 of the 315 chargers – accounting for ₹57 crore or nearly 95% of the requested subsidy – are proposed at sites identified through EoI with CPOs and private landowners, reflecting a shift toward “crowd-sourced, privately-hosted infrastructure to accelerate network density,” it said.
For Phase 1, the Ministry of Heavy Industries had approved a grant of ₹63.12 crore on March 31 this year. This phase, which is currently in progress, involves the installation and commissioning of 335 EV chargers across 209 locations across Kerala. The Phase 1 locations are predominantly KSEB’s own substations, section offices and other departmental premises, alongside premises of institutional partners such as universities, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation and the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
Implementation of the first phase is now actively under way, a KSEB official said. Simultaneously, the utility is upgrading several of the EV public charging stations to higher-capacity chargers to keep pace with rising demand and evolving vehicle charging standards.
Published - July 11, 2026 06:31 pm IST
