Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, constructed by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), have been brought into operation at the central bus terminal in Bharatpur, Chitwan.

NEA has constructed two charging stations at a cost of around Rs 9 million with the aim to reduce the use of petroleum-based vehicles and develop an environment-friendly transport system through the use of EVs.

According to NEA engineer Sagar Gyawali, a maximum of six vehicles can be charged at the stations.

“Chargers with 142 kilowatts and 50 kVA transformers have been installed. It takes one and one and a half hours to fully charge a vehicle based on the type of vehicle,” said Gyawali.

It will cost Rs 8.28 per unit of electricity to charge a vehicle between 5 am and 5 pm. Similarly, Rs 10.44 per unit between 5 pm and 11 pm, and Rs 9.6 between 11 pm and 5 am.

“Approximately five vehicles visit the stations on a daily basis to charge their vehicles,” said Asim Bhattarai, managing director of the company that has been contracted to run the station – Arjun Construction and Suppliers.

A limited number of battery charging stations remains one of the significant issues for making EVs popular in Nepal. To tackle that problem, the electricity authority has aimed to construct 51 charging stations across the country.

Currently, 12 charging stations, constructed by NEA, have come into operation while the construction process of 32 more has been completed, said Gyawali.