The natural gas vehicle (NGV) refuelling area at Petronas Ayer Keroh 3 in Melaka is being transformed into a Gentari EV charging station. This is the third former Petronas NGV station that has been repurposed into an EV charging spot after Petronas Mesra Mall in Terengganu and Petronas KLIA 2 in Sepang.
The migration to the EV charging station likely took place quite recently, as the NGV pump was still present in the image captured by Google Maps back in February. The Malaysian government has banned NGVs since the end of June this year.
However, the new EV charger at Petronas Ayer Keroh 3 is not yet operational. According to the image that was shared by SoyaCincau.com EV User Group member, Ts Farez, the DC charger was still under wrap when he stumbled upon it earlier this month.
Hence, we couldn’t get a clear look at the DC charger, but it appears to be a Cornerstone DC charger, similar to the unit that was deployed at BYD Taiping. If it is true, then the maximum DC charging speed will most probably be 120kW, and we expect the charging fee for this location to be RM1.60 per kWh since it is an off-highway location.
The location of Petronas Ayer Keroh 3 is quite strategic as it is located just 1.5km from Ayer Keroh Toll Plaza, which is one of the main entry and exit points for Melaka. Hence, it can potentially become the charging spot of choice for EV owners who are about to go into Melaka City or before they exit onto the North-South Expressway.
Meanwhile, Ayer Keroh already has several DC charging stations. Charge+ has turned on two 120kW DC chargers that can cater up to 4 EVs at the same time in Amverton Heritage Resort earlier this year, while ChargEV operates a dual nozzle 80kW charger at the AEON Melaka Shopping Centre.
There is also a ChargeSini 60kW DC charger with two nozzles at the Mydin Mall in Melaka International Trade Centre. EVPower has also deployed a single-port 30kW DC charger at the SQ Spirit Cafeteria in the Ayer Keroh Industrial Zone.
