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Message: <blockquote data-quote="පැටියා" data-source="post: 18080708" data-attributes="member: 228926">By Arthur WamananThe Power and Energy Ministry is to commence rolling out charging points for electric cars from next month with two points initially planned to be put up in Kotte and Welipenna, a senior Government Minister told The Nation Gain this week. According to the Minister of Power and Energy, Patali Champika Ranawaka the proposed charging points, estimated to cost approximately Rs.4 million each, are to be set up and managed by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Lanka Electricity Company (Pvt) Ltd (LECO) .“A pricing mechanism for electric cars to be charged at these units was being formulated with the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) in drafting the mechanism. The initiative is to encourage usage of eco-friendly transportation after the Government cut down tax on electric car importation to five percent,” Ranawaka said. Further, moves are also underway to provide charging facilities at concessionary rates during a particular time period. “We are planning to provide the charging facility at a subsidized rate between 10pm and 4am. But we are yet to calculate the amount,” the Minister said.Even though electric cars could be charged from homes, the rate at which they are charged would be higher in these units that are to be set up. “If it takes two hours for the car to charge at home, it would only take 20 minutes at these units,” the Minister noted adding that after the installation of the two points, the ministry would then invite private companies to put up units in other parts of the country.The Minister further cited a possibility of switching to alternative power source in order to cut down costs. “There is also a suggestion to put up solar powered charging units which would be much more cost-effective and environmental-friendly,” Ranawaka added. Importation of electric cars was expected to surge after taxes were reduced to five percent through the interim budget presented in January. However, latest statistics revealed that importation of electric cars has only seen a marginal increase in February despite the tax reduction.According to JB Securities CEO Murtaza Jafferjee, registration of electric vehicles saw only a marginal increase of 13 units compared to 11 in January. “We are yet to see numbers pickup considering that the duty has been cut to a mere 5%,” Jafferjee said in his analysis of the recent statistics. Meanwhile, Secretary to the Power and Energy Ministry, Dr. S. Batagoda commenting on the decline in registrations could be due to the lack of proper facilities afforded to electric cars in Sri Lanka “Once we put the necessary facilities in place, then we will see an increase in the importation of electric cars. That is what we are trying to do,” he told The Nation Gain.Source[CODE]http://www.nation.lk/edition/business-tbl/item/39346-charging-points-to-hit-lankan-roads.html[/CODE]</blockquote>

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