Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of the public sector undertakings under the Ministry of Power, will focus this year on bringing more initiatives in four-wheeler EVs, three-wheeler EV segments, and EVs as a service. Vishal Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, EESL spoke to businessline about its ongoing initiatives, such as the National Electric Bus Program (NEBP), and offerings in international markets.
Kapoor, who has also taken charge as the CEO of Convergence Energy Services Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of EESL, said that the company is working towards its target of deploying 50,000 e-buses under the National Electric Bus Programme (NEBP).
“Well, the most important thing right now is e-mobility and we want to scale it up. The Grand Challenge tender of 5450 e-buses was concluded and the buses under the tender are envisaged to be on road by April 2023 in Delhi and Bengaluru. The National Electric Bus Tender-1 for 6465 no. of e-buses is also concluded recently. The process of LoA sanctioning and Agreement signing will commence soon.”
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Similarly, building on the idea to scale e-mobility, four-wheeler EVs and three-wheeler EV segments offer great opportunities, according to Kapoor. “In four-wheelers, we have deployed 2,000 4W EVs and, with the latest announcement of the scrapping of old government vehicles, we are looking at ways to scale this up to meet the increased demand.” In fact, last month, CESL released an announcement inviting OEMs, leasing companies, and NBFCs to submit price bids for the lease of 3,500 electric cars (4W).
Speaking about offering EV as a service this year, he said, “Right now, fleet operators find it easy to introduce petrol and diesel vehicles; to germinate this market by creating capabilities is where we see EV as a service coming into the picture. We intend to operate a back-to-back lease model. Let the private sector players come with their EVs; they lease them to us, and we aggregate the demand,” explained Kapoor.
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Offerings in the international market
EESL, which has an international footprint in the UK through Edina, a subsidiary involved in power generation, is also planning to expand the company outside the UK market. In addition to this, in terms of programs and offerings in international markets, the company has signed two MoUs during India Energy Week.
It has signed an MoU with Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle Joint Business Council (IMT-GT JBC), Malaysia to promote the adoption of energy efficiency and sustainable practices in the region. Under this partnership, EESL will implement rooftop solar, LED street light projects, electric mobility, UJALA, and building energy efficiency programs in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
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“We will provide technical advisory, project management, contracting, and implementation support to execute select energy efficiency programs from its portfolio with proven track records of successful implementation. Going forward, we will also look to do some projects there,” said Kapoor.
It also signed another MoU with Dubai-based Al Etihad Energy Services L.L.C. (Etihad ES) aimed at accelerating the adoption of energy efficiency and sustainability programmes in Middle East region.
As part of this partnership with Etihad ES, EESL will explore opportunities for the rollout of various energy-efficient initiatives in the region. The company will also help identify new interventions and extend its technical knowledge capabilities for the promotion of energy efficiency and sustainability.