Heavy-duty EVs push public charging power consumption up 57% in India

Heavy-duty electric vehicles like buses and trucks are driving a significant increase in electricity consumption at public charging stations, according to Central Electricity Authority data. (A representative image)
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

They may have a small contribution to total EV sales, but heavy-duty vehicles like buses and trucks have seen bigger growth in electricity consumption in the last one year, official data shows.

According to data from the Central Electricity Authority, heavy-duty Public Charging Stations (PCS) consumed about 232 Million Units (MU) of power from April to June 2025, nearly double the 116 MU from the same period last year. Meanwhile, non-heavy-duty PCS – those meant for 2-wheelers and cars – consumed 72 MU, up by 20 per cent.

Overall, power consumption from EV PCS in April-June 2025 stood at 306 MU, up 57 per cent from the 176 MU in the same period last year.

State-wise trends

Among the states, Delhi has the highest heavy-duty PCS power consumption with 66 MU, followed by Maharashtra (62 MU). At 42 MU, Karnataka showed the highest growth in power consumption in heavy-duty PCS, going up from 0.87 MU in April-June 2024.

Interestingly, some states continue to show higher power consumption from non-heavy-duty PCS, like Uttar Pradesh (11.6 MU), Haryana (4.5) and Kerala (3.9).

Battery size drives higher energy demand for buses, trucks

Speaking to businessline, Kiran Kumar, co-founder and CEO of CreamCollar, says that the major factor is the battery size. “While cars [battery] have a capacity of around 100 KWH, trucks and buses have capacities closer to 500 KWH. Adding to this, the passengers or goods that they carry mean they drain quicker and need to be charged a lot more.” 2-wheelers and cars are mostly charged at home, while larger vehicles rely heavily on high-capacity public chargers, he added.

Som Kapoor, Automotive, Future of Mobility Leader and Partner, EY India, says that beyond just having bigger batteries, the pattern of charging and commercial nature of these vehicles lead to higher power consumption. “For commercial vehicles, asset monetisation is a crucial factor, with their revenues depending on how many hours they are on the road. Operators are hence incentivised to use fast charging that has a higher power draw and also charge more frequently to maximise vehicle utilisation,” he said. 

Published on September 10, 2025