CESL discovers lowest-ever prices for 5,450 e-buses under FAME II
Premium- The union ministry of power said that prices discovered are the lowest ever and are at par with or very close to the operational cost of diesel buses
NEW DELHI : State-run Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) on Tuesday announced prices discovered for 5,540 electric buses across five cities
A statement from the union ministry of power said that prices discovered are the lowest ever and are at par with or very close to the operational cost of diesel buses.
The lowest price discovered for a 12-meter bus is ₹43.49 per kilometre, and a 9-metre bus is ₹39.21 a kilometre. This includes the cost of electricity for charging of the buses.
The tender comprised of demand for 5,450 buses across Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Surat.
“Prices realized set a benchmark for public transport, the price point for which may encourage even the smaller cities to adopt electric vehicles," it said.
The statement said that prices discovered represent electric mobility as a “service", a relatively new and emerging business model that makes it affordable for state transport undertakings to adopt electric buses.
The value of the tender was over ₹5,000 crore. The buses are expected to operate around 4.71 billion kilometers over twelve years saving 1.88 billion liters of fossil fuel.
The buses will benefit from the central government subsidy offered under the remodeled FAME-II scheme administered by the ministry of heavy industries. According to power ministry, due to the discovery of lowest ever prices under the tender, the government would save a ₹361 crore of subsidy, which in turn may be utilized for additional buses.
MINT PREMIUM See All
The contract term is 12 years, with assured kilometers of 10 lakh per bus, and a credible payment security system. Special emphasis was paid to the requirement for domestic content, specifications for which are the highest to date.
Nine cities are eligible to receive subsidy under the remodeled FAME-II scheme. Of these, five have participated in this tender. All major bus manufacturers participated in the tender, the ministry said.
Announcing the discovered prices, Mahua Acharya, MD & CEO, CESL said: “The rates we have witnessed today make electric buses extremely competitive across the country. These rates are based on the terms and conditions of the tender and the sheer number of buses that cities have requested."