Starting an EV Charging Station Business in Punjab

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm every requirement with NEECA, NEPRA and your DISCO before you commit money.

The rules in brief

Registration with NEECA

The National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (NEECA) registers and oversees EV charging stations and battery swapping stations under the 2024 regulations. Reading the regulations and NEECA's published summary, the process is:

1. Apply online through NEECA's forms portal with applicant, site and technical details.
2. Upload approvals and NOCs: municipal approval, land-use or ownership permission, DISCO NOC, EPA NOC, and NHA or other NOCs where they apply.
3. Pay the registration fee by demand draft and send the original to NEECA with the application ID.
4. Evaluation: NEECA's committee reviews within 15 working days; incomplete files are returned for correction.
5. Annual inspection and testing by an enforcement officer, with records kept for three years.

Penalties for violations rise with repeat offences and can end in revocation of registration.

The tariff

NEPRA cut the base tariff for EV charging stations from Rs 45.55 to Rs 23.57 per kWh in 2025, with the station allowed to add a market-determined margin. Charging stations are billed by the DISCO under tariff category A-2(d), and monthly fuel cost adjustments do not apply. Press reports at the time projected the effective rate after taxes and adjustments falling from about Rs 71 to about Rs 40 per kWh. The regulations also require the station to charge customers in line with NEPRA's approved tariff and to meter EV charging separately.

What the regulations expect on site

The 2024 regulations set technical and safety requirements, including:

• Charger levels: Level 1 single-phase AC up to 3.3 kW; Level 2 three-phase AC from 3.3 to 22 kW; Level 3 DC above 50 kW, with Levels 4 and 5 above 150 kW and 350 kW.
• Connectors compatible with the vehicles on the road, including CCS2, CHAdeMO, GB/T and Type 2.
• Protection: earth leakage protection (RCD/ELCB), overload and overvoltage protection, lightning protection, IPX4 or better outdoors, and impact protection where vehicles could hit equipment.
• Earthing: an earth resistance limit unless the maker specifies otherwise, with continuity tests every 12 months.
• Signage showing voltage, current, time-of-use, fees and safety information; charging-only parking bays.
• Connectivity: OCPP support and internet connectivity for public stations, and an uptime target above 90%.
• Fuel stations: the design must account for ignitable fumes from petrol dispensers.

Diagram

EV charging station business

Site

Connection and sanctioned load

Chargers

AC chargers installed by us

Solar

Lowers daytime charging cost

Is the business worth it? Start with honest numbers

The market is real but early. In 2025 the government said it was considering converting some of the 3,400 closed CNG stations into charging points, after reports that only eight charging stations had operated in the previous year. By mid-2026 officials told a National Assembly committee that more than 100 EV charging stations had been licensed nationwide. Demand at any single site depends on location, traffic and which vehicles live nearby.

Example arithmetic, not a forecast

For example, if your all-in cost of grid electricity, including taxes, came to Rs 40 per kWh, and you sold charging at Rs 55 per kWh, your gross margin would be Rs 15 per kWh. If cars took 150 kWh a day from your chargers, that is Rs 2,250 a day before rent, staff, maintenance, internet, card fees, NEECA inspections and loan repayments. At 50 kWh a day it would be Rs 750. These are round illustrative numbers only, not rates, sales or profits anyone should expect.

The lesson from that arithmetic: utilisation decides everything. A charger that sits idle most of the day earns little, however good the tariff.

Questions to answer before you invest:

1. How many EVs pass, park or live within reach of the site, and how long do they stop?
2. Will customers want a quick top-up (DC) or a long stay (AC)?
3. What else does the site earn while cars charge: fuel, food, shopping, parking?
4. Can the grid connection and transformer carry the chargers you want, now and later?

Choosing the site and the chargers

AC chargers are cheaper to buy and connect, but a car's on-board charger limits how fast it takes AC power. DC chargers charge much faster and cost far more, and they draw large power from the grid. Our EV charger installation page explains charger types and connectors in more detail.

We design the electrical supply and solar for DC sites and install AC chargers.

The electrical design

A charging station is an electrical project first. The points that decide cost and reliability:

• Connection size and transformer. Several DC chargers can add up to hundreds of kilowatts. Your sanctioned load, supply voltage and transformer must carry that, with room to add chargers later. See how to increase sanctioned load.
• Demand peaks. Fast chargers create sharp peaks when several cars plug in at once. Where your tariff includes demand charges, those peaks cost money; see what MDI means on your bill. Load management, which shares power between chargers, keeps peaks down.
• Protection and earthing. Dedicated circuits, the RCD type the charger maker specifies, surge protection and a tested earth. See earthing and surge protection and breakers and protection.
• Power quality. Large chargers are power electronics and can add harmonics to the site supply. See harmonics and power quality.
• Separate metering for EV charging, as the regulations require.

Where solar fits, and where it does not

Solar and EV charging sound like a natural pair, and often they are. But be clear about what solar does for a charging business.

What solar does well:

• Cuts daytime grid purchases. Every unit your panels supply to a charging car, or to the shop, lights and cooling at the site, is a unit you do not buy. See charging an EV with solar for the arithmetic at home scale.
• Shades the cars. A solar canopy over charging bays keeps cars and customers cool and carries the panels. See solar carports and canopies and solar for petrol pumps.
• Marketing value. "Charged by the sun" matters to some customers, provided it is true for the share of energy it claims.

What solar does not do:

• It does not cover night charging or cloudy days. Most stations will still buy most of their energy from the grid, at least at first.
• It earns less when it exports. Under NEPRA's net billing rules since 9 February 2026, exported units are credited at a much lower rate than grid units cost. Size solar for what the site uses in daylight, not for the chargers' peak rating. See our net metering and net billing guide and the 25 kW rule.
• It saves less per unit than at a shop or factory. If the EV charging tariff is lower than the commercial tariff your shop or factory pays, each solar unit used for charging avoids a cheaper grid unit. Run the numbers on your actual bill.

A battery as a buffer

A battery (BESS) can store midday solar for evening charging and, more importantly for fast-charging sites, supply part of each charging peak so the grid connection does not have to. That can make the difference where the transformer is the limit. Batteries are expensive, so the case has to be made from your own load data; our guide to battery storage for factories explains the test, and the same logic applies to charging sites. We work with Luminey and current Huawei and Sungrow options batteries, chosen per project.

Startup cost lines

Add to these the NEECA fees, DISCO connection charges, civil works, signage, software and internet, and your working capital.

Running the station

• Uptime. Public stations are expected to stay available, and drivers remember a broken charger. Plan regular inspections and fast fault response; see O&M for commercial solar plants for the maintenance mindset.
• Records. Keep inspection and test records for NEECA's annual checks.
• Pricing. Display your fees clearly, within the tariff rules.

How Solar Works Pakistan can help

Solar Works Pakistan installs EV chargers for homes and businesses across Punjab and designs the solar, battery and electrical systems around them. We are a solar EPC, engineering and trading company founded in 2021, with a Faisalabad head office and a Lahore branch, 300+ customers served, including 50+ industrial clients, and power-generation heritage going back to the 1980s through our founder, Akram Ullah Khan.

• Site survey, normally free, with a load and connection assessment.
• In-house electrical and solar design, with a detailed BOQ naming brand, model, quantity and warranty for every item.
• Installation, testing and safe commissioning by our own teams.
• Chargers, panels, inverters and batteries carry the manufacturer's warranty per product. Our structures, including canopies, carry a 3-year structure warranty, and our service warranty covers the first year under applicable project terms. After a complaint is registered, we target sending service personnel within 48 hours.

We provide the technical drawings and documents the client's application needs.

See EV charger installation and industrial and commercial solar.

Get today's price or a free site survey

Send us your site location, the existing electricity bill and sanctioned load, and how many chargers you have in mind. We will tell you what the connection can carry and how solar could fit.

• WhatsApp or call: 0336 666 4321
• Email: info@solarworks.pk
• Head office: Main Boulevard, Sargodha Rd, Block F FDA City, Faisalabad (Faisalabad page)
• Lahore branch: 2nd Floor, Jeff Heights, Gulberg, Lahore (Lahore page)
• Hours: 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, daily

We serve all of Punjab. You can also contact us online.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a licence to open an EV charging station in Pakistan?

You register the station with NEECA under the 2024 EV charging regulations, with NOCs from the municipal authority, DISCO and environmental agency, and NHA where relevant. Check with NEECA for the current process before you start.

What is the electricity tariff for EV charging stations?

NEPRA set a base tariff of Rs 23.57 per kWh plus a market-determined margin, billed under category A-2(d), with no fuel cost adjustment. Confirm the current rate with your DISCO or NEPRA before building your business plan.

How much can an EV charging station earn?

It depends mainly on how many kWh cars draw each day and your margin per kWh. A charger that is rarely used earns little, so study traffic and EV numbers at your site first.

Can an EV charging station run on solar?

Partly. Solar can supply daytime charging and the site's other loads, and a canopy shades the cars. Night charging and peak demand still need the grid, and a battery can help with peaks.

Should I install AC or DC chargers?

It depends on how long cars stop. Highway and quick-stop sites need DC fast chargers; malls, offices and housing societies often do well with AC chargers.

Can I add EV charging to my petrol pump?

Yes, subject to registration and NOCs. The regulations require the design to consider petrol fumes, so charger placement and protection need care.

Does Solar Works install EV chargers?

Yes. We install EV chargers for homes and businesses across Punjab, and design the solar and electrical systems that support them.

Sources

1. NEECA, Pakistan Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure and Battery Swapping Regulations, 2024 (summary page: process, documents, fees, safety): https://neeca.gov.pk/Detail/MjczZTQwYWYtYzA5Yi00YzM2LThhNWUtZmMwYTA1MTZlYmJm
2. NEECA, EVCI and BSS Regulations 2024, full text (charger levels, earthing, protection, signage, connectivity, separate metering, tariff clause)
3. Profit (Pakistan Today), "Nepra sets EV charging tariff at Rs23.57 per unit plus market margin", 25 May 2025
4. Profit (Pakistan Today), same report dated 12 January 2026
5. Profit (Pakistan Today), "Govt plans to convert 3,400 closed CNG stations into EV charging points", 13 February 2025
6. APP, "Over 100 EV charging stations licensed, NA body told", 29 June 2026
7. NEECA presentation on EV charging stations to SAARC Energy Centre, 2026 (policy context)