The Guyana Government – through the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) – has commenced the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the country, setting up the fourth such station at Amazonia Mall, Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
Last year, a US$141,199.38 contract was awarded to Jamaica-based Flash Motors Company Limited to procure and install six public EV charging stations across the country, as it transitions to environmentally-friendly modes of transportation.
In addition to the one at Amazonia Mall, charging stations have thus far been placed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) in Timehri, the Giftland Mall on the East Coast of Demerara and outside of the GEA Office on Quamina Street, Georgetown.
The other two will be installed on Monday and Tuesday at Little Rock Suites in New Amsterdam, Berbice and Big Kiss Parking Lot in Parika, East Bank Essequibo.
This publication caught up with GEA’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Mahender Sharma and a team at the Amazonia Mall as they were testing out the charging station there.
“The first step is to mount the unit, put it in to make sure that it’s charging. The next step is fixing the backend software to allow a user to come in, scan a QR code, get an app, connect their credit card information and then allow them to be able to access it,” Sharma said.
He added that over the next weeks, Flash Motors’ CEO Xavier Gordon will be working with credit card companies and putting together the software and the app to make it a seamless process for road users.
When asked about the rates that will be charged with the service, the GEA Head said this is still being developed.
Moreover, Sharma stated that so far, the team has encountered some issues with communication, internet connection and the powerline but he maintained that these are all resolvable.
Unlike combustion vehicles, electric vehicles are propelled by electromagnetism and an electric motor. It is charged using electricity, eliminating oil changes and other features distinct to gasoline or diesel vehicles.
These six EV charging stations–once open to the public–aim to allow for an 80 per cent charge in about 45 minutes in what Gordon described as a process that will be “very simple.”
“We’ll have an app that’s available, users will register once with that app and once you’ve done that, you’re just basically going to use that app to interact with the charging station: You will pull up the app, pull up the location and say this is the charger that I want to use, you’ll tap it, unplug it, plug it in and you’ll be good to go,” Gordon explained.
“We actually have, in development, software that would allow certain vehicles to be able to skip that entire process where [they] just plug it in and go,” Gordon said, adding that this software has proven successful in North America, Europe and China.
Though these stations will not be able to charge all EV models, connectors were chosen to cater for the more popular models seen in Guyana.
As of February, there were reportedly 168 electric vehicles in the country, two of which are owned by the GEA.
That number, Sharma said, is likely to rise in the coming months.
“I think the completion of these public EV charging stations will have a profound impact on that, as it is meant to catalyze that interest. And those persons who are hesitant about investing in an EV will have an assurance that if they run out of charge on the road, they can now connect and access [a station],” Sharma said.
Earlier this year, Sharma had explained that based on current electricity prices, it costs about US$0.04 per kilometer when compared to US$10 per kilometer if gasoline or diesel is used.
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