Karnataka Telangana Surge in EV Charging Power Usage

For the first time, Karnataka and Telangana cut into Delhi’s share of electricity used by public charging stations (PCSs) dedicated to electric vehicles (EVs) during the April-June quarter of the current financial year. Delhi, which typically accounts for over 40 per cent of India’s cumulative electricity consumption by EV PCSs, saw a marked drop in its market share to roughly one-third in the June quarter of FY26 — a first for the national capital territory, the largest electricity consumer for EV PCSs.

According to Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data, EV PCSs in Delhi consumed the most power at 81.74 million units (MU), but this represented a decline of more than 2.5 per cent Y-o-Y in Q1 FY26. Its market share also fell from 47.74 per cent in Q1 FY25 to 26.75 per cent in Q1 FY26.

Meanwhile, Karnataka’s market share climbed from just 1.13 per cent in Q1 FY25 to nearly 16 per cent a year later. The state, which has the highest number of EV PCSs in the country, consumed 48.67 MU of power during Q1 FY26, a staggering 2,457 per cent Y-o-Y increase.

Likewise, Telangana increased its market share from 1.82 per cent in Q1 FY25 to 6.55 per cent in Q1 FY26. The state has 1,066 EC PCSs, which consumed 20 MU during Q1 FY26, an annual rise of 525 per cent.

The top seven states — Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana — together made up 84.27 per cent of the total power consumed by EV PCSs in the country. However, their combined share fell year-on-year; in Q1 FY25 these states accounted for 89.87 per cent of total consumption.

Currently, India has 29,277 installed EV PCSs, with Karnataka having the largest number at 6,097. It is followed by Maharashtra (4,155), Uttar Pradesh (2,326), Delhi (1,967), and Tamil Nadu (1,781).

Overall, the power consumed by EV PCSs in the country rose by 74 per cent Y-o-Y to 305.58 MU. The higher consumption by PCSs is being linked to the increase in EV sales, particularly two- and three-wheelers that are increasingly used in transport and logistics for last-mile delivery, notably by e-commerce and q-commerce companies.

South India

The southern states of Karnataka and Telangana were also the surprise entrants in FY25, registering multi-fold increases in power consumption by EV PCSs in FY25.

In FY25, Delhi, Maharashtra and Karnataka together accounted for nearly three-quarters of the electricity consumed by EV PCSs. Pan-India power consumption by PCSs rose 82 per cent Y-o-Y to 847.80 MU. While Delhi accounted for over 40 per cent of the share nationally, Maharashtra captured one-fourth of the usage. Karnataka, a surprise entrant, made up almost one-tenth of the cumulative consumption.

Karnataka consumed 79.61 MU of power in FY25 compared with just 6.34 MU in FY24. Its share rose from only 1.4 per cent of pan-India consumption in FY24 to a record 9.4 per cent a year later.

Similarly, electricity consumption by EV PCSs in Telangana climbed to 28.64 MU in FY25 from 6.33 MU in FY24. Its share in India’s total power consumption by charging stations increased from 1.4 per cent in FY24 to 3.4 per cent in FY25.