Dubai: Electric car owners who are right now reluctant to take their vehicles on a long drive to the Northern Emirates due to a lack of charging options can now rejoice as the northern and eastern regions of the UAE will soon have at least 50 electric vehicle (EV) chargers.
According to a senior official at the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (Fewa), a tender for the project was opened last month and an announcement on the installation of the chargers will be made shortly.
Speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines of the Electric Vehicles UAE conference in Dubai, Mohammad Babiker, director of Electricity and Water Conservation at Fewa, said that by the end of this year, all Northern Emirates like Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah will have fast charging stations.
“This initiative is part of the government’s vision to have the necessary infrastructure to support the growth of EV. Fewa is serving six emirates and to begin with we will have 50 chargers spread across different places like malls, universities, hospitals as well as public parking areas,” said Babiker.
Some of the locations include American University in Ras Al Khaimah, Shaikh Khalifa Hospital, municipality buildings and public parks.
The stations will also be installed in some regions of Sharjah emirate like Dhaid, Madam, Kalba and Dibba Al Hisn, where Fewa is the power supplier.
Last month, Fewa launched a pilot project that saw the installation of one fast charging point and 10 medium level chargers at its headquarters to supply power for its fleet, which will soon include at least 10 electric vehicles.
“These 10 chargers will provide us with the necessary structure to include EVs in our fleet. We are already in the process of procuring some electric vehicles, the details of which will be announced shortly,” he added.
He added that the authority will soon announce the tariff for the usage of EV chargers in the Northern Emirates, indicating that there are likely to be incentives similar to those announced in Dubai.
However, he didn’t elaborate on the way to access these chargers and whether there will an integrated system for all EV users.
On Sunday, the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) announced a series of incentives to promote the use of zero emission electric cars included free charging until 2019, free parking in designated areas, free Salik tag and free vehicle registration.
The initiative is part of the federal government’s push to promote green mobility and cut down on carbon emissions.
