Ahmedabad: Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture under Ministry of Power, Government of India today entered into a partnership with Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), an Urban Local Body established under Gujarat Municipal Provincial Act, to establish enabling infrastructure for Electric Vehicles (EV) in AMC area over a 10-year period.

Under the terms outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding inked today, AMC and EESL shall jointly work to fast-track the adoption of e-mobility in Ahmedabad by installing around 100 public charging stations and promoting electric vehicles on rental and purchase basis in AMC area.

AMC Commissioner Vijay Nehra signed the MoU agreement in presence of CM Vijay Rupani and Venkatesh Dwivedi, Director (Projects), EESL and other dignitaries.

The entire investment for services pertaining to MOU shall be borne by EESL along with the operation & maintenance of Public Charging Infrastructure by qualified manpower, whereas, AMC would be responsible for provision of space for setting up charging infrastructure and provision of requisite power connection including load sanction and meter connection for charging infrastructure. With these EVs, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is expected to save over 4.46 tonnes of CO2 emissions per e-car per year.

Several states in India have released policies for promoting adoption of EVs in their respective states. Government of Gujarat is also working towards introducing a policy for the state to promote the use of electric vehicles (EV).

Installation of public charging stations would help these legislative efforts in creating a sustainable EV ecosystem in the states. With installation of public charging stations, the range anxiety among residents is expected to reduce, which would help in increasing the adoption of EVs in the city. This would help meet the state level targets of increasing EV adoption. With increasing penetration of EVs, the local emission of pollutants is also expected to reduce, leading to cleaner air providing several health benefits to the public.

Under EESL’s EV programme, EESL has completed tender processes to procure 10,000 e-cars. Till date, 1,408 e-cars have been deployed across the country and are under registration/allocation. For charging e-cars, 286 AC & 142 DC chargers have also been commissioned. EESL has signed agreements with various PSUs, Government departments, State Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana.

With the bulk procurement, EESL receives electric vehicles and electric chargers at a significantly discounted rate vis-à-vis the actual market value. Further, with access to low cost funds, the overall cost of project becomes competitive. With this, EESL has established a sustainable business model which is affordable for end consumers.

EESL, under the administration of Ministry of Power, Government of India, is working towards mainstreaming energy efficiency and is implementing the world’s largest energy efficiency portfolio in the country. Driven by the mission of Enabling More – more transparency, more transformation, and more innovation, EESL aims to create market access for efficient and future-ready transformative solutions that create a win-win situation for every stakeholder. By 2020, EESL seeks to be a US$ 1.5 billion (INR 10,000 crore) company.

EESL has pioneered innovative business approaches to successfully roll-out large-scale programs that allow for incentive alignment across the value chain and rapidly drive transformative impact. EESL aims to leverage this implementation experience and explore new overseas market opportunities for diversification of its portfolio. As on date, EESL has begun its operations in UK, South Asia and South-East Asia.