State-run Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) is in talks with states like Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan among others for supplying electric vehicles (EV), a senior company official said.
EESL, a joint venture company of government-owned four power sector companies including NTPC, Power Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation and Power Grid, has so far signed agreements with states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat to supply EVs for government use.
"We are in talks with various states including Telangana, which will be soon launching its EV policy, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan among others," EESL managing director Saurabh Kumar told reporters here today.
He said nearly 200 EVs are already operating in Delhi NCR and soon another 150 will be added to the fleet and another 100 have been delivered in Andhra Pradesh.
While Andhra Pradesh has signed an agreement to procure 10,000 EVs, EESL will be supplying 8,000 vehicles to Gujarat and 1,000 (in first phase) to Maharashtra.
"For the other states, we will not be able to give the numbers as we have not signed the agreements, but we believe it will be significant," Kumar added.
In the first phase of the EV program, EESL had floated a global tender for 10,000 electric which was split into two parts 500 vehicles were to be procured in the initial phase and the rest in the second part. Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra had emerged as successful bidders in the first tender of the EESL for 10,000 cars.
When asked about the company's decision to extend the bidding timelines for its second phase of 10,000 cars, he said, "we are still waiting for the department of heavy industry to finalise its new policy on charging stations before going ahead with a new tender for buying electric cars. We are told that the policy will be out soon."
Kumar further said the new policy would incorporate all the prevailing standards on charging stations, thus attracting more players to the expanding market.
As per the agreement between EESL and Maharashtra, the company will support the state's vision of generating investment worth Rs 25,000 crore in EV and component manufacturing, assembly enterprises and charging equipment manufacturing.
The Maharashtra government's Electric Vehicle and Related Infrastructure Policy 2018 entails increasing the number of registered EVs in the state to 5 lakh and creation of one lakh jobs.
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