By Piyush P. Yadav
Plug into a public charger in India and you might pay Rs 12 a unit at one station and Rs 28 at another a few kilometres away. That spread is not random. Every public charging price in the country is built from the same components under rules the Ministry of Power set out in its Guidelines for Installation and Operation of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure, issued on 17 September 2024: a regulated electricity tariff tied to the distribution company’s average cost of supply, a capped service charge that differs for AC and DC and for daytime versus night, GST, and a small revenue share to whoever owns the land. This guide takes the tariff apart line by line, shows what the caps are and how long they last, and explains why fast charging during the day is cheaper than at night.
The four building blocks of a public charging tariff
| Component | Who sets it | Rule | Typical size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity tariff | State electricity regulator, under MoP guidelines | Single-part tariff, must not exceed the discom’s Average Cost of Supply (ACoS); 0.7 times ACoS in solar hours, 1.3 times ACoS outside them | Roughly Rs 4 to Rs 9 per kWh depending on state and time |
| Service charge | Charge point operator, within MoP ceilings | Capped per kWh: AC Rs 3 (solar) / Rs 4 (non-solar); DC Rs 11 (solar) / Rs 13 (non-solar), excluding GST | Most of the difference between AC and DC prices |
| GST | Central and state government | 18 per cent on the charging service | Adds roughly Rs 2 to Rs 4 per kWh on DC |
| Land revenue share | Land-owning public agency and CPO | Rs 1 per kWh paid quarterly to the agency under a 10-year agreement, for stations on public land | Rs 1 per kWh, folded into the price |
The electricity tariff: why “solar hours” matter
The 2024 guidelines require every state regulator to give EV public charging stations a single-part tariff, meaning energy charges only, with no separate fixed or demand charge. That tariff cannot exceed the discom’s Average Cost of Supply, the blended cost it incurs to deliver a unit of power. Within that ceiling, the guidelines mandate a time-of-day split:
- Solar hours, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm: 0.7 times ACoS.
- Non-solar hours, all other times: 1.3 times ACoS.
These rates are valid until 31 March 2028. The logic is grid economics: India now has so much solar generation in the middle of the day that discoms want load shifted into that window, and EV charging is one of the few loads that can move. For a station owner the arithmetic is simple. On a discom with an ACoS of Rs 7 per unit, daytime energy costs the CPO Rs 4.90 and evening energy costs Rs 9.10, a difference of Rs 4.20 per kWh before any margin. Operators that pass this through offer cheaper daytime charging, and several do.
| State (discom) | Published EV charging supply tariff |
|---|---|
| Delhi | Rs 4.50 per unit LT, Rs 4.00 per unit HT |
| Gujarat | Rs 4.10 per unit LT, Rs 4.00 per unit HT |
| Karnataka (BESCOM) | Rs 4.50 per unit for EV charging and battery swapping |
| Kerala | Rs 5.50 per unit LT, Rs 6.00 per unit HT |
| Telangana | Rs 6.00 per unit LT, about Rs 5 to Rs 7 per unit HT |
| Uttar Pradesh | Rs 7.70 per unit LT, Rs 7.30 per unit HT |
| Tamil Nadu | About Rs 6 to Rs 9 per unit under time-of-day categories |
| Maharashtra (MSEDCL) | Rs 9.26 per kVAh total variable charge for LT EV stations in FY2026-27 |
Figures as compiled by My Motor and Bolt.Earth from state tariff orders for 2026. Tariff orders are revised annually, so the numbers move, but the ranking is stable: Gujarat, Delhi and Karnataka are consistently the cheapest states in which to run a charger, and Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh the most expensive.
The service charge ceilings: where AC and DC diverge
The service charge is the CPO’s margin for the hardware, software, site and maintenance. The Ministry of Power caps it, and the caps are the reason a DC session costs so much more per unit than an AC one.
| Charger type | Solar hours (9 am to 4 pm) | Non-solar hours |
|---|---|---|
| AC slow charging | Rs 3.00 per kWh | Rs 4.00 per kWh |
| DC fast charging | Rs 11.00 per kWh | Rs 13.00 per kWh |
All figures exclude GST and apply until 31 March 2028. A 60 kW DC unit can cost a CPO Rs 12 to 20 lakh installed, versus under Rs 1 lakh for a 7.4 kW AC point, and the ceilings reflect that capital gap. Note that these are ceilings, not floors. Operators with high utilisation can and do charge less, while a low-traffic highway site will almost always price at the cap. Our analysis of why charge point operators are losing money at 1 to 5 per cent utilisation explains why so few can afford to discount.
Putting it together: what a DC fast charge should cost
Take a DC fast charger in Delhi, where the supply tariff is Rs 4.50 per unit, during the afternoon solar window.
| Line item | Solar hours | Non-solar hours |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity (Delhi LT) | Rs 4.50 | Rs 4.50 (higher where the discom applies the 1.3x multiplier) |
| Service charge ceiling, DC | Rs 11.00 | Rs 13.00 |
| Land revenue share (public land) | Rs 1.00 | Rs 1.00 |
| Subtotal | Rs 16.50 | Rs 18.50 |
| GST at 18 per cent on service | About Rs 2.16 | About Rs 2.52 |
| Indicative ceiling price per kWh | About Rs 18.70 | About Rs 21.00 |
That is consistent with what drivers actually see: the market range for public DC charging in 2026 is Rs 18 to Rs 30 per kWh, and for public AC it is Rs 10 to Rs 18. Stations pricing above roughly Rs 21 to 24 on DC are either in high-tariff states such as Maharashtra, or recovering costs for private land, or applying an idle fee or session fee on top of the per-unit rate. Where GST is applied to the electricity portion as well as the service, the headline figure creeps higher still, which is one of the anomalies we flagged in our piece on GST on EVs, batteries and charging.
Home charging for comparison
None of this applies at home. A domestic EV charging connection is billed on the residential or dedicated EV tariff of the state, usually Rs 4 to Rs 8 per unit with no service charge and no 18 per cent GST on top. That is why a 40 kWh car costs around Rs 200 to Rs 320 to fill at home and Rs 720 to Rs 1,200 at a public DC station. The full comparison is in our guide to home charging versus public fast charging costs.
The other rules in the 2024 guidelines that affect pricing
- Connection timelines. Discoms must energise a charging station within 3 days in metropolitan areas, 7 days in other municipal areas, 15 days in rural areas, 30 days in rural hilly terrain and 90 days where network expansion is needed, for LT connections up to 150 kW. Faster connections mean lower carrying cost for CPOs.
- Spacing targets. At least one public station in every 1 km by 1 km grid in urban areas, one every 20 km on both sides of highways, and one every 100 km per side for heavy-duty EVs by 2030. Highway sites are the ones most likely to charge at the ceiling.
- Open access. A CPO buying renewable power through open access pays a surcharge capped at 20 per cent of the applicable tariff plus wheeling and transmission charges, and nothing else. Large operators use this to lower their energy cost below the discom rate.
- De-licensed activity. Anyone can set up a public charging station without a distribution licence, which is why more than 200 CPOs now operate nationwide.
What this means for drivers
- Charge in the afternoon when you can. The 9 am to 4 pm window is structurally cheaper for both the CPO and, where passed through, for you. Several apps now show a lower daytime rate.
- Use AC when you are not in a hurry. The service charge on AC is a quarter to a third of DC. If the car is parked for four hours, a 22 kW AC point costs far less per kWh.
- Compare per-kWh prices, not per-minute. The guidelines are framed per kWh, and per-minute pricing penalises cars with slower charging curves.
- Look for the land share. Stations at fuel retail outlets and government sites carry the Rs 1 per kWh revenue share, but they also tend to have the most reliable power connections. The HPCL and V-GREEN rollout across 24,400 outlets is the largest example.
Sources & Further Reading
- Power Line: Ministry of Power releases EV charging infrastructure guidelines 2024
- YoCharge: Revised EV charging guidelines 2024, tariff and service charge details
- My Motor: EV charging cost in India 2026, state-wise tariff guide
- Ministry of Heavy Industries: Operational guidelines for deployment of EV public charging stations under PM E-DRIVE
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum service charge for EV charging in India?
Under the Ministry of Power’s 2024 guidelines, the ceiling is Rs 3 per kWh for AC charging during solar hours and Rs 4 outside them, and Rs 11 per kWh for DC fast charging during solar hours and Rs 13 outside them, excluding GST. The ceilings apply until 31 March 2028.
Why is public EV charging cheaper in the afternoon?
The guidelines set the electricity tariff for charging stations at 0.7 times the discom’s average cost of supply between 9 am and 4 pm and 1.3 times outside that window, and the service charge ceiling is also lower in solar hours. Operators that pass this through offer cheaper daytime rates.
How much does DC fast charging cost per unit in India?
Typically Rs 18 to Rs 30 per kWh in 2026, depending on the state’s electricity tariff, whether the station is on public or private land, and whether the operator prices at the service charge ceiling.
Is GST charged on EV charging?
Yes. The charging service attracts 18 per cent GST, which is why the final price per unit is a few rupees above the sum of the electricity tariff and service charge.