EV revolution interrupted by 'ghost chargers'
MUMBAI: Beneath India's roads, if you listen close enough, there are some jarring sounds—the hum of 'ghost chargers.' These chargers were engineered to be silent. But as things are, they appear to be yelping in pain as all kinds of powers flog India's ambitious electric vehicle (EV) revolution. The cables are straining and it would appear to many their purpose is forgotten. And why may that be?
Picture this: You navigate to a charging station confidently highlighted as 'active' on your app. On getting there, you find the place either stripped of essential components or repurposed into a garbage bin. In Delhi alone, 84% of surveyed chargers are non-functional. Casualties if you will, of theft, negligence, or unreliable power. Nationally, half of all chargers lie idle, failing EV owners who placed their trust in India's electric promise.
Yet, rewind to May 2025. India proudly announced nearly 30,000 public chargers, a significant jump in infrastructure. The numbers painted progress. But they masked an unsettling truth: there's always a chasm between promise and gritty ground realities.
The narrative makes itself obvious on talking to automobile enthusiasts. Take NC Toney from Kochi as a case in point. He owns an electric scooter. With a reliable home charging station, he swears by his scooter as an ideal one for short city runs. It allows him do 60-70 kilometres on a single charge. Yet, Toney wouldn't dare venture far into the city. He knows to find reliable charging points is close to impossible.
His experience mirrors that of many potential EV users. Consider Mumbai. Not too long ago, I tinkered actively with buying an electric car. But I'm the kind of person who begins to get nervous when the needle on the fuel tank goes below half. How am I to deal with 'range anxiety' in a city where the infrastructure to charge vehicles is abysmal? Not just that, in the older apartment complex where I live, finding a charging point is both daunting and complicated. This is a common narrative.
Business realities complicate matters further. Despite investments from major players like Tata Power and HPCL, partnered with aggregators such as Statiq, Charge Point Operators (CPOs) face daunting economics. Rampant theft, high maintenance costs, logistical nightmares, and persistently low utilization rates averaging below 5% nationally make infrastructure investments less attractive. Shifting standards from Bharat DC to CCS2 further complicate long-term investments.
Financial hurdles persist for consumers too. EVs remain expensive upfront due to high battery costs—around 35-40% of total vehicle price—and concerns around battery degradation loom large. Replacement batteries cost a hefty ₹5-10 lakh for cars and ₹55,000- ₹100,000 for two-wheelers, severely impacting resale values and long-term ownership appeal.
Zooming out, these issues underline a broader disconnect. India excels at swift digital transformations, layering software atop existing infrastructure. But electric mobility demands something sturdier—a tangible, reliable, physical backbone, beyond the quick fixes of India's celebrated 'jugaad' approach. The ambitious goal of achieving 30% EV sales by 2030 hangs precariously unless infrastructure realities are decisively addressed. The absence of real-time data on charger functionality further impedes effective policymaking.
The 'ghost charger' saga is more than technical glitches or failed installations. It encapsulates India's complex dance between visionary aspirations and the mundane yet vital execution of durable infrastructure. It poses an urgent question: Can a nation celebrated for its nimble digital leaps also master the slow, meticulous groundwork required for a lasting physical transformation? The answer hangs quietly, like the first rains of an awaited monsoon. Full of promise, yet uncertain on when it will arrive. What we know is that it will arrive. Like the monsoon inevitably does.
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