Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) subsidiary, Convergence Energy Services (CESL) has revealed the prices for the biggest non-subsidized demand for 6,465 e-buses.
The unified tender constitutes demand for electric buses from six Indian states & UTs – Delhi, Telangana, Haryana, Surat (Gujarat), Kerala & Arunachal Pradesh.
This is the first tender under the National Electric Bus Programme (NEBP), which found the lowest price discovered for a 12-metre bus (intra-city) at Rs 54.3/km, & 12-metre bus (inter-city) at Rs 39.8/km. For a 9-metre bus, the price discovered is Rs 54.46/km and for a 7-metre bus at Rs 61.92/km.
The prices do not include a subsidy and are 29 percent lower than what it costs to operate diesel buses.
The e-buses will be deployed both within city limits and on intercity routes, with the latter being able to do 325km on a single charge.
The contract will benefit from terms and conditions standardized through the Grand Challenge process and will be eligible to gain from a payment security fund currently under consideration by the government of India.
The tender is valued at over Rs 30,800 crore, wherein the buses are expected to operate around 5,718 million kilometres over 12 years, saving 1,842 million litres of fossil fuel.
This will result in 4.62 million tonnes of CO2e from tailpipe emissions, a major step towards mitigating climate change.
Under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model, the private operator will be responsible for the bus and operation for a period of 10- and 12-years against pre-determined conditions as set out in the tender. STUs on their part pay a fee for the bus service.
Mahua Acharya, MD & CEO, CESL said “This is a remarkable step in helping to transform our state transport authorities and build out a new market for electric mobility in India. Of course, a tender such as this is also witnessed to the commitment of the country in achieving the goals set by the Prime Minister to mitigate climate change and better the quality of life of our citizens.”
“This tender is a part of the central government’s vision to deploy 50,000 e-buses on the roads in the next few years, whilst strengthening, modernizing and greening public transport in India,” added Acharya.
The National Electric Bus Programme, which aims to effect the deployment of 50,000 e-buses across the country, is envisioned to aggregate demand, support state transport undertakings to integrate electric buses into their operations, and work with states and DISCOMs alike to support the creation of charging infrastructure at their depots.
The prices realized set a benchmark for public transport, the price point for which may encourage even the smaller cities to adopt electric vehicles. This price discovery represents ‘electric mobility as a service’, a relatively new and emerging business model that makes it affordable for state transport undertakings to adopt electric buses.
