CESL discovers all-time lowest prices for 5,450 buses: Power Ministry

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The benchmark price for public transport may even encourage smaller cities to introduce electric vehicles

The benchmark price for public transport may even encourage smaller cities to introduce electric vehicles

Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Department for Energy, has announced “lowest prices ever” for £5,000, a “The Grand Challenge” tender that saw demand for £5,450 Includes buses in five major Indian cities — Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Surat.

The discovered prices set a benchmark for public transport – the price point that could encourage even smaller cities to adopt electric vehicles – an official statement said.

“The prices found are the lowest ever and, more importantly, they are at or very close to the operating costs of diesel buses. The lowest price found for a 12 meter bus is ₹43.49/km and a 9 meter bus is ₹39.21/km. This includes the cost of electricity to charge the buses,” the Department of Energy said in a statement.

The prices determined presented electric mobility as a “service”, a relatively new and emerging business model that makes it affordable for state-owned transport companies to deploy electric buses, adding that the tender homogenizes demand for electric buses, making this a step closer in the standardization of modern public mobility.

“The offer is valued at over £5,000m. The buses should cover around 4.71 billion kilometers in twelve years and save 1.88 billion liters of fossil fuel. This will result in 3.31 million tonnes of CO2e from tailpipe emissions, an important step towards mitigating climate change,” he added.

At least 25,000 people will be employed through this tender, 10% of them women. This does not include new jobs created by new production facilities.

“The homogenization process started in July 2021 according to a Gazette of India notice dated June 11, 2021 issued by the Ministry of Heavy Industry. 9 cities are eligible to receive grants under the revamped FAME II program. Of these, 5 took part in this tender. All major bus manufacturers participated in the tender,” the ministry added.

“The prices we saw today make electric buses extremely competitive across the country. These prices are based on the bidding terms and the sheer number of buses cities have requested,” said Mahua Acharya, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, CESL

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