NE NEWS SERVICE
KOCHI, MAR 27
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a ‘Maharatna’ and a Fortune Global 500 Company on Monday announced the launch of 19 EV Fast-Charging stations in Kerala among the 110 fuel stations along 15 highway corridors in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
BPCL ELECTRIFIES MORE THAN 5,000 KMs HIGHWAY STRETCHES IN KERALA, KARNATAKA AND TAMIL NADU TO PROMOTE ELECTRIC VEHICLES GROWTH #BPCL #EVCharging #Highway #Corridor #SustainableFuture pic.twitter.com/aXJ3QdASxE
— Bharat Petroleum (@BPCLimited) March 25, 2023
- 30 KW fast charging stations installed at 110 Fuel Stations, creating 19 EV Fast Charging Corridors on 15 major highways in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
- These corridors will connect important religious and tourists destinations with cities
- Highway Corridors created to remove range anxiety of the electric vehicles owners, driving long distance
- Fuel Stations offer safe & secure stoppage points for EV charging, offering clean toilets and restaurants, which are ideal for a break while driving
- BPCL will convert 200 National Highways across India by March 31st 2023, into electric corridors
The company has launched 3 corridors with 19 fuel stations in Kerala, 6 Corridors with 33 fuel stations in Karnataka and 10 corridors with 58 fuel stations in Tamil Nadu
The 19 Highway Corridors are:
| Sr. No | Highway Corridor | Distance (Kilometers) |
| 1 | Bangalore -Mysore – Bandipur | 230 Kms |
| 2 | Davanagere-Haveri-Belgaum | 248 Kms |
| 3 | Bellari-Koppal-Gadag-Hubbali-Karwar | 385 Kms |
| 4 | Bangalore-Davanagere | 264 Kms |
| 5 | Bangalore-Bagepalli-Anantpur | 224 Kms |
| 6 | Bangalore – Tirupathi | 247 Kms |
| 7 | Chennai Pondichery – Velankanni | 310 Kms |
| 8 | Coimbatore – Karur | 149 Kms |
| 9 | Trichy – Thanjavur – Nagapattinam | 145 Kms |
| 10 | Hosur – Salem-Karur-Madurai -Tirunelveli- Kanyakumari | 641 Kms
|
| 11 | Madurai-Rajapalayam-Shencottah | 163 Kms |
| 12 | Madurai-Rameshwaram | 196 Kms |
| 13 | Salem – Ulundurrpet | 139 Kms |
| 14 | Theni-Madurai-Thondi | 186 Kms |
| 15 | Tuticorin-Madurai | 167 Kms |
| 16 | Coimbatore – Salem | 167 Kms |
| 17 | Ernakulam-Kozhikode- Kannur-Kasargod | 362 Kms |
| 18 | Kozhikode –Waynad | 86 Kms |
| 19 | Ernakulam-Trissur-Palakkad | 150 Kms |
‘It takes just 30 minutes to charge an EV, giving the driving range of upto 125 kilometers at our Fuel Stations, therefore we have maintained the distance within 100 kilometers between the two charging stations’, said Pushp Kumar Nayar, Head Retail South at the launch.
These corridors will connect important religious and tourist destinations with cities, like Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh & Bandipur National Park in Karnataka; Ranaganthaswamy Temple, Jambukeswar Temple. The famous religious places covered in Kerala are Guruvayoor temple and Kadampuzha temple, Vallarpadam National shrine of Basilica, St.Antony’s Church , Koratty and Markaz Knowledge City & Early Sunrise watch at Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, and many more.
So far, BPCL has converted 21 Highways into electric corridors and going forward, by March 2023, 200 highways will be covered with Electric Vehicle Fast Chargers to support and accelerate the EV growth in the country.
These Fast EV Charging Corridors were inaugurated by P.S. Ravi, Executive Director Incharge (Retail) in presence of Pushp Kumar Nayar, Head Retail South, Kannabiran D. , State Head (Retail) Kerala, Subhankar Sen, Chief General Manager (Retail Initiative & Brand) at the launch event in Ernakulam, Kerala.
Speaking at the launch, P.S. Ravi, Executive Director Incharge (Retail), BPCL said ‘The fast chargers are easy to use. They can be self-operated without any manual assistance, though support staff will be available if needed. BPCL has digitized the entire EV charger locator, charger operations and transaction process through the HelloBPCL app for an online hassle free and transparent user experience.’
Several of BPCL’s highway fuel stations also offer hygienic food through its strategic alliances with leading brands such as McDonald’s, A2B, Cube Stop, Café Coffee Day and other local outlets. Bharat Petroleum has also rolled out its chain of In & Out convenience stores at key fuel stations on highways for added convenience to its customers.
