The first batch of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points under the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) large scale tender is now in operation, according to a press release.
The tender itself covers nearly 2000 HDB carparks, and this first batch comprises six charging points in two public carparks, located in Telok Blangah and Boon Lay, operated by ChargEco and Charge+ respectively.
All six of the new chargers are slow charge, and “mostly provide low-powered, overnight charging” to meet the needs of car owners and minimise the load on the electrical grid, according to Transport Minister S Iswaran.
Aside from ChargEco and Charge+, tenders have been awarded to a ComfortDelGro Consortium, SP Mobility, a consortium led by Shell Eastern Petroleum, and a consortium led by Strides Automotive Services.
By the end of the year, the Government aims to deploy 2000 more charging points in more than 700 HDB carparks island wide, which would account for about a third of all HDB carparks.
LTA has also stated that they are on track to deploy at least 12,000 charging points by 2025 to cater to the rising population of Singapore’s EVs.
Singapore now has more than 6500 registered electric cars, and close to 10,000 EVs including other vehicle classes.
Transport Minister S Iswaran welcomed the increased adoption rate, and credited the significant increase to the fact that “many commuters or buyers have assessed and arrived at the conclusion that there is a value proposition for electric vehicles as well”.
LTA has also set up a wholly-owned subsidiary, EV-Electric Charging Pte Ltd, which will work with the tenderers and government agencies to plan and manage the deployment of EV charging points. EV-Electric will also coordinate the upgrading of supporting electrical infrastructure for EV charging.
Speaking at the launch of the new EV chargers, Minister Iswaran hailed the deployment of new chargers as an important development in Singapore’s efforts to build up the EV ecosystem in Singapore, by helping to alleviate range anxiety in drivers.
“By making charging points ubiquitous across the island, especially in our HDB, we hope to eliminate the range anxiety and therefore encourage greater adoption.”
According to the Singapore Green Plan, EV adoption is a key pillar in achieving Singapore’s carbon neutral goals, and the government has been setting up initiatives and providing incentives to promote EV adoption.
LTA had previously set up a nationwide EV charging standard, known as Technical Reference 25, in 2010. A review of this standard was completed in 2022.
Grants are also provided for the installation of chargers in non-landed private estates, and there are rebates for registering new Electric Vehicles.
The goal is for all newly-registered cars to be cleaner-energy models from 2030.
Featured Image Credit: CarBuyer Singapore