If you ever had any doubts regarding the forthcoming invasion of electric cars, the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) launched its Volta platform project to encourage use of electric vehicles and get charging stations to join its network.
As part of the project, the PEA will install Volta kits and electronic card readers at electric-vehicle charging stations hooked into the utility’s Volta system, with data transmitted back to the PEA.
People using electric vehicles will be able to use mapping services and navigation systems to find charging stations in the utility’s networks. Moreover, they can check the station’s status and make reservations and check on any maintenance being done to the car or its battery.
They also can check how much time until a charge is complete with a smartphone application. Finally, users can pay for their electric top-up online.
To get the project off the ground, the PEA is offering free charging through June 30.
It has always been the case that electric vehicles would take off as long as there was some infrastructure. That is now happening, with quite a number of stations operating in Bangkok.
Range anxiety is being countered by the recharging stations which in reality operate just like gasoline stations. The only difference is you can’t walk up to the nearest recharging station and walk away with a one gallon container of volts.
