Power (DISCOM)
HESCOM (corporate headquarters in Hubballi)
Licence
Not required (de-licensed)
Karnataka road tax
Rolled back in 2026 → 5–10% by price band
Corridor position
NH-48 around km 405–410 · Hubballi–Dharwad bypass, toll-free since 2024
Public EV charging tariff
₹4.50/unit energy · ₹70/kW/month LT fixed charge (KERC, 27 March 2025)
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Chat on WhatsAppThe city also shows the clearest charging pattern on the corridor, and it is a gap as much as a presence: essentially every public DC charger in the Hubballi–Dharwad belt sits at a fuel station or a highway hotel on NH-48 or P. B. Road. Destination and intra-city charging — the BRTS corridor, the Gokul Road industrial belt, the university campuses, Navanagar — is visibly thin.
Why Hubballi, and where the existing chargers actually are
Named live charging sites in the belt include Shell Recharge at Pale on NH-4, BP Keshwapur, Sri Sai Petroleum, Mahalaxmi Fuel Center at Tadas on NH-48, a Tata Power 25 kW unit near Kundgol Cross on P. B. Road, Pawar Petroleum in Dharwad and ChargeZone at Hotel Panchavati, Shiggaon. Every one is a forecourt or a highway hotel.
That concentration tells you two things. Fuel retailers have moved first because they already hold highway frontage with power, drainage and footfall — so competing head-on for pure highway traffic means competing with BPCL, Shell and Jio-bp on their own land. But it also means the destination market is open: a shopping centre, a hospital, a hotel car park or an office campus in Hubballi has no meaningful competition for the vehicle that sits parked for two hours.
The city sits on NH-48 at roughly chainage km 405–410, with the Hubballi–Dharwad bypass running km 403.800 to 433.200. An important commercial change: that 30 km bypass went toll-free on 7 September 2024 after 24 years of collection. NHAI's own toll information system still displays an active fee schedule for the Gabbur plaza, so pages quoting current tolls there are working from stale data. Removing the toll changes traffic behaviour — more local and short-hop traffic uses the bypass now, which is good for a destination charger and slightly dilutes the captive long-distance stop.
Hubballi–Dharwad is also the corridor's logistics and institutional centre. It hosts the South Western Railway zonal headquarters, IIT Dharwad, IIIT Dharwad, Karnatak University, the Karnataka State Law University, UAS Dharwad and the National Forensic Sciences University. Hubballi Junction's Platform 1, at 1,507 metres, holds the Guinness record for the world's longest railway platform. Student and institutional populations are exactly the demographic buying electric two-wheelers.
Where to put a charger in Hubballi
The industrial land position here is the most comfortable on the corridor. KIADB operates areas at Rayapura, Sattur, Lakamanahalli, Belur, Tarihal, Gamanagatti — including a dedicated women entrepreneurs' park — and Mummigatti, with a district land bank of around 5,203 acres and land reserved for an electronics manufacturing cluster. Occupiers include Tata Motors, Tata Hitachi, Kirloskar Electric, Varun Beverages, Uflex, Fleetguard, RSB Transmission, HPCL and Infosys. Unlike Belagavi's roughly 100 acres, there is genuine room here.
The BRTS corridor deserves attention as a siting spine rather than a customer. Chigari runs 22.25 km of segregated busway between Hubballi and Dharwad and has been operating since October 2018. It defines the densest commercial axis between the twin cities, and sites along it see reliable footfall. Treat published daily ridership figures with caution — the widely quoted 90,000 to 100,000 a day could not be verified from an official source.
Hubballi airport carried around 3.76 lakh passengers in FY2025-26, growing strongly while Belagavi's traffic fell, and it has an 8 MW solar plant that makes it grid-positive plus North Karnataka's first air cargo terminal. One caution for anyone modelling on growth: traffic is still below the FY2019-20 peak of 475,218, so the recent rise is partly recovery rather than pure expansion.
On buses, 100 of NWKRTC's 200 PM E-Drive electric buses are allocated here, with a purpose-built five-acre depot inside the existing Gokul Road workshop carrying charging, repair and parking. Each bus is expected to run around 220 km a day. Again a closed system, but a strong signal of local electrical capability and a large visible EV fleet.
- Malls, hospitals and hotels — the genuinely open gap, since forecourts have taken the highway
- KIADB Tarhal, Gamanagatti, Belur and Lakamanahalli — a 5,200-acre land bank with room to negotiate
- The BRTS Chigari corridor — the densest commercial axis between Hubballi and Dharwad
- IIT and IIIT Dharwad, Karnatak University campuses — two-wheeler-heavy student populations
- Hubballi airport — taxi fleets and long-stay parking, with existing solar generation on site
HESCOM connection and the Karnataka EV tariff
HESCOM's head office is in Hubballi, at Navanagar on P. B. Road. Load sanctions and HT escalations for the whole of north-west Karnataka are decided in this city — a real, practical advantage for a Hubballi site over one anywhere else in HESCOM territory.
The tariff comes from the KERC Combined Tariff Order 2025 dated 27 March 2025, which covers the FY2025-26 to FY2027-28 control period. Schedule LT-6(c) and its HT equivalent price EV charging at 450 paise per kWh — ₹4.50 a unit — with an LT fixed charge of ₹70 per kW per month of sanctioned load or an HT demand charge of ₹200 per kVA per month. Those figures were set identically across all three years. KERC reopened the 2025 order in March 2026 to revise other categories without touching LT-6(c), so confirm the current position before building a long-horizon model on it.
Demand charges are not waived. KERC turned down the DISCOMs' request to move EV charging to a single-part tariff, holding that its two-part tariff already recovers only 51% of the average cost of supply and so provides a bigger concession than the Ministry of Power's guidelines contemplate. Budget the fixed charge as a certainty: a 60 kW connection costs roughly ₹4,200 a month before any energy is sold, and a 120 kW site double that.
There is no solar-hour discount and no non-solar surcharge in Karnataka — the rate is flat around the clock. The time-of-day table shown in the LT-6(c) schedule applies only to depot charging for BMTC, KSRTC, NEKRTC and NWKRTC on HT supply, not to commercial public charging, and is frequently misapplied on other sites.
For reference, BESCOM's own FY24 actuals recorded 645 LT-6(c) installations realising an average ₹5.92 a unit, and 51 LT-6(c)-under-HT installations at ₹5.90 — useful as a sanity check on what operators actually pay once duty and other charges land on top of the base rate.
Karnataka subsidy, nodal agency and road tax
The Karnataka Clean Mobility Policy 2025-30, notified by Government Order CI 117 SPI 2024(e) on 11 February 2025, offers a 25% capital subsidy up to ₹10 lakh per fast charging station across 500 stations, at the same rate in all zones. Slow charging stations receive nothing at all under clause 4.3.2.2. Battery swapping gets 25% up to ₹3 lakh for two- and three-wheeler stations and up to ₹10 lakh for bus swapping. There is no viability gap funding anywhere in the policy.
BESCOM is the designated State Nodal Agency for EV charging across Karnataka, which catches out applicants in HESCOM territory who reasonably assume their own DISCOM handles it. BESCOM also operates a Land Aggregator Portal matching landowners with charge point operators — a sensible route if you own suitable land in Hubballi but would rather not run the operation yourself.
As of August 2026, no separate operational guidelines, scheme document or application window for the charging subsidy could be verified. The policy is gazetted and legally in force, but the money is not demonstrably flowing. Plan the project so it works without the subsidy, and treat approval as upside.
On road tax, Karnataka's exemption ended in April 2026. Electric cars and motor cabs now pay 5% of cost up to ₹10 lakh, 8% from ₹10 to ₹25 lakh and 10% above ₹25 lakh; electric two- and three-wheelers appear unaffected. Note that the Clean Mobility Policy document still contains the superseded exemption wording at clause 4.1.2.1, which is why so many pages state the old position.
Cost, returns and next steps in Hubballi
Setup cost runs roughly ₹5–12 lakh for a small AC station and ₹12–30 lakh for a mid-size DC station before any subsidy — the final figure turns on your HESCOM (corporate headquarters in Hubballi) sanctioned load, land or rent, and civil work. Model your own numbers with the EV charging station ROI calculator, see the full setup cost breakdown, and read whether the business is actually profitable. The national rules — licensing, approved equipment and Ministry of Power guidelines — are in our full guide to starting a charging station business, and the Karnataka incentive position is set out in the Karnataka EV subsidy guide. If you would rather partner than build alone, compare franchise and dealership options.
Hubballi EV charging station — FAQs
How do I start an EV charging station in Hubballi?+
Pick a site, apply to HESCOM for a commercial connection under the LT-6(c) or HT EV charging category, install approved chargers and comply with the Ministry of Power guidelines. No electricity licence is required. Hubballi has a practical advantage: HESCOM's corporate headquarters are in the city at Navanagar, P. B. Road, so load sanctions and escalations are handled locally rather than remotely.
What is the EV charging tariff in Hubballi?+
₹4.50 per unit under KERC's Combined Tariff Order 2025 dated 27 March 2025, schedule LT-6(c), held flat through FY2027-28, plus a fixed charge of ₹70 per kW per month of sanctioned load on LT or ₹200 per kVA per month on HT. Karnataka has no solar-hour discount for public charging — the rate is the same all day.
Where should I set up a charging station in Hubballi?+
Look at destination charging rather than the highway. Essentially every existing public DC charger in the Hubballi–Dharwad belt is on a fuel forecourt or at a highway hotel on NH-48 or P. B. Road, so competing there means competing with oil companies on their own land. Malls, hospitals, hotels, the KIADB estates at Tarhal and Gamanagatti, the BRTS Chigari corridor and the university campuses are all comparatively open.
What subsidy can I claim for a charging station in Hubballi?+
Under the Karnataka Clean Mobility Policy 2025-30, a 25% capital subsidy up to ₹10 lakh per fast charging station, across 500 stations statewide, at the same rate in every zone. Slow charging gets no incentive. There is no viability gap funding in the policy. As of August 2026 no operational guidelines or application window could be verified, so build your case without depending on it.
Which DISCOM do I apply to in Hubballi, and who is the nodal agency?+
HESCOM is your distribution company and handles the connection, and its head office is in Hubballi itself. However, BESCOM is the State Nodal Agency for EV charging stations across the whole of Karnataka, including HESCOM territory — a distinction that regularly confuses applicants in the north-west of the state.
Is the Hubballi–Dharwad bypass still tolled?+
No. The 30 km Hubballi–Dharwad bypass went toll-free on 7 September 2024 after 24 years of collection. NHAI's toll information system still shows an active fee schedule for the Gabbur plaza at km 408, so any page quoting current tolls there is working from stale data. NHAI has tendered six-laning with a single new plaza planned between Kelageri and Narendra.
How much does it cost to set up a charging station in Hubballi?+
Roughly ₹5–12 lakh for a small AC station and ₹12–30 lakh for a DC fast-charging site before subsidy. Budget the HESCOM fixed charge as a fixed monthly cost — around ₹4,200 a month on a 60 kW connection regardless of usage. Land is comparatively available here: the district KIADB land bank runs to around 5,200 acres, which gives you more negotiating room than in Belagavi.
Is EV road tax still exempt in Karnataka?+
No. Since the amendment notified on 10 April 2026, electric cars and motor cabs pay lifetime tax of 5% of cost up to ₹10 lakh, 8% from ₹10 to ₹25 lakh and 10% above ₹25 lakh. Electric two- and three-wheelers appear to remain exempt. The Clean Mobility Policy document itself still carries the old exemption wording, which is why the outdated position is so widely repeated.
Do I need a licence to open a charging station in Hubballi?+
No. Public EV charging is de-licensed across India. You need a commercial HESCOM connection under the EV charging tariff category, approved equipment and standard safety and fire clearances for larger sites. You are selling a charging service rather than reselling electricity, which is why no electricity licence applies.
Is there enough EV demand in Hubballi to support a station?+
The institutional base is strong — IIT and IIIT Dharwad, Karnatak University, the Karnataka State Law University and UAS Dharwad put a large student population in the twin cities, and students are heavy adopters of electric two-wheelers. NWKRTC also has 100 PM E-Drive electric buses allocated with a five-acre depot on Gokul Road. The realistic read is that AC destination charging serves local demand while DC revenue comes from NH-48 traffic, where oil companies already hold most of the good sites.
Charging station setup in other cities
Sources checked — August 2026
- Karnataka Clean Mobility Policy 2025-30, GO No. CI 117 SPI 2024(e) · 11 February 2025
- KERC Combined Tariff Order 2025 (all ESCOMs), schedule LT-6(c) · 27 March 2025
- Karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Act 2026, notified · 10 April 2026
- NHAI Toll Information System — Gabbur plaza, Hubballi–Dharwad bypass
- Hubballi Times — H-D bypass toll withdrawal · 7 September 2024
- Invest Karnataka district profile — Dharwad; AAI traffic data FY2024-25
Indicative information only, checked August 2026. Tariff orders, subsidy windows and DISCOM processes change — verify with the Karnataka nodal agency and HESCOM (corporate headquarters in Hubballi) before committing capital.