Are Bengaluru apartment complexes EV-friendly? Know why it’s a split verdict

Opposition to charging vehicles in parking areas may fizzle out once more people switch over to electric vehicles.

ByBellie Thomas

Published Nov 27, 2022 | 9:00 AMUpdatedNov 27, 2022 | 9:00 AM

EV charging station

The Model Building By-laws of 2016 was amended three years later to add a clause to Chapter 10. The amendment was to facilitate the charging of electric vehicle (EV) batteries at parking areas in residential complexes.

The change, however, did not help Anand Vedula, a resident of Shriram Samruddhi apartments at Varthur on the eastern outskirts of Bengaluru city. He charges his EVs at a friend’s place nearby or at office, despite his residential parking lot having a charging facility.

Vedula, 37, had bought his ninth-floor flat in Shriram for ₹87.5 lakh in 2017. The price was inclusive of ₹2.5 lakh for the parking space. He took an extra line to the basement from his domestic Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (Bescom) connection to charge his vehicles, a car and a two-wheeler.

A few days after Vedula started charging the vehicles, the Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) of Shriram Samruddhi apartments objected, citing safety issues. It said the battery might explode, sparking a blaze.

Interestingly, the RWA’s objection came even as the central government has been promoting EVs by offering incentives. Its flagship programme, FAME, or Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric vehicles, provided several incentives for three years from 1 April, 2019.

The government of Karnataka, too, had offered incentives for a specific period.

A court case and reprisal

Vedula approached the Bescom and the civic body, the Bruhut Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), and procured no-objection certificates from them. The RWA still did not budge.

Refusing to back down, Vedula approached a court. “I have submitted the Bescom’s letter to the court,” he told South First, hoping for a favourable verdict.

Soon after the suit was filed, the RWA allegedly clamped his vehicles which required police intervention.

Incidentally, it was not the first time that Vedula had a brush with the RWA. The association had earlier objected to his parking four vehicles, two cars and as many two-wheelers, in his about 264-square feet parking slot. Only one vehicle could be parked, it said, adding that he could avail additional space on rent from the association.

There are a few other RWAs, too, that do not allow the residents to charge EVs on their premises. The objection is over safety. The RWAs pointed at the diesel generators located in parking lots.

Related: Why do electric vehicles catch fire, and what can be done?

Isolated incidents, says BAF

Electric vehicle charging

An electric vehicle being charged. (UNDP)

“Those could be exceptional cases,” Vikram Rai, general secretary of the Bangalore Apartments Federation (BAF), told South First while stressing that Bengaluru is an EV-friendly city.

“Residents prefer dedicated space on their premises for EV charging points, even though only five percent or lesser number of people are having electric vehicles,” he added.

To buttress his argument, he said of the 1,150 apartments registered with the BAF, around 100 apartments have shown interest in installing community EV charging points on their premises.

“Some of them are even looking for start-ups that could install the necessary infrastructure,” Rai said.

According to his estimates, 20-25 apartment complexes have community EV charging stations. “This estimate is from an overview conducted about 10 months ago. The numbers would have gone up now,” he stated.

A member of BAF’s technical advisory committee, Satish Mallya, said the federation has a tie-up with Bescom for identifying spots at apartment complexes to install charging stations.

“The amended building by-laws also mandate EV charging stations as a pre-condition for approving or sanctioning building plan,” he informed South First.

More EVs to quell opposition

The RWA’s reluctance to install charging stations and opposition to residents charging their EVs are bound to fizzle out in due course.

“It is a matter of time before more number of residents switch to electric vehicles. There will be a corresponding demand for community charging stations,” Srikanth Narasimhan, former general secretary of BAF said. “Currently, the adoption of EVs is low,” he added.

Rai, too, felt the same. “More people are switching over to electric vehicles. There are two challenges now: First, the technology has not developed in terms of quality but it is still evolving. The second is a policy matter. The government should provide incentives to people who opt for buying and using electric vehicles,” he pointed out.

“Compared to other states, Karnataka is ahead when it comes to sustainable energy and well-defined power grids,” he added.

Evolving technology

Shedding more light on the evolving safety features, Moushami Mohanty, senior programme manager with Clean Air and Sustainable Mobility at the Centre for Science and Environment, said, “Expertise in making batteries is a new skill and we don’t have much experience.

Electric Vehicles

Electric Vehicles

Elaborating, she said the EV battery pack has five essential components: Cathode, anode, separator, electrolyte, and a battery management system (BMS).

“The BMS is the most integral part. EV batteries discharge lithium ions from the anode to the cathode through the electrolyte. Most lithium-ion batteries use anodes made of graphite, which are typically layers of carbon sheets,” she said.

“The space between the carbon layers becomes the perfect location to receive lithium ions as the battery charges and discharges. Nearly 90 percent of fires in lithium-ion batteries are caused by internal short-circuits,” she explained.

“There is also an issue with the inter-operability of EV batteries in the country. It is fast evolving with the decrease in global prices of batteries,” Mohanty added.

Meanwhile, Nagaraj, a resident of Karnataka Housing Board’s Diamond Apartments, explained why the RWAs are opposing people charging EVs.

“These people (RWA members) will be in charge of the association for three years, and thereafter a new team takes over. They want to avoid risks. If several people are drawing cables from their apartments, it will create a menace in the parking lots,” he pointed out. “Also, it is not sure if the domestic connection will take the additional load.”

He suggested community charging stations as a solution. “The association and Bescom can also generate additional revenue if outsiders, too, are allowed to charge from the residential premise,” he added.