Transport Minister of Delhi, Shri Kailash Gahlot today laid the foundation stone for setting up the first Public Electric Vehicle Charging Plaza in DTC Nehru Place Bus Terminal and inaugurated a Public EV Charging Station at the site, which will help in giving a push to faster electric vehicle adoption in the National Capital. Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) has been allotted 10×9 meter space at Nehru Place Bus terminal as the first site to set up this EV charging plaza. The project will be completed and open to public within a month.
CESL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), Ministry of Power, in collaboration with the state-run Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will develop Public EV charging stations and Battery Swapping stations at seven DTC terminals and depots in the Delhi region. Each of the seven locations will have a total of six charging points, three of which will be for two and three-wheelers and three points which can charge 4 wheelers. Once installed, these locations with their real-time status and availability of charging points will also be available on the ONE DELHI App of the Delhi Government.
CESL and DTC signed an agreement in this regard on September 7th, 2021. Through this, Delhi Government is also endeavoring to reduce carbon footprint, enhancing the usage of renewable energy through the integration of solar rooftop and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Under this collaboration, CESL has been mandated to procure, install, operate, and maintain charging units and related infrastructure at the DTC terminals located at Dwarka Sector-8, Dwarka Sector-2 Depot, Mehrauli Terminal, Nehru Place Terminal, Okhla CW-II, Sukhdev Vihar Depot and Kalkaji Depot, within four months. The charges for usage of location shall be paid by CESL to DTC on a monthly basis at the rate of Rs. 1.00 per kWh of energy dispensed. Initially, the contract period is of 10 years.
Speaking at the occasion, Transport Minister Shri Kailash Gahlot said, “We are moving closer to our agenda of developing innovative charging infrastructure and EV ecosystem in the National Capital and we are happy to be collaborating with CESL, who comes with an expertise in EVs and charging infrastructure in the country. Since the launch of the EV policy last year, we’ve had a significant rise in the number of EVs plying on Delhi roads, with more than 17,000 EVs registered. We are also in the process of deliberation on adding 20 more sites of Transport dept. in the next phase of installation apart from the 100 public charging stations which will be installed through the open tender. This will significantly ease the transition towards e-mobility for public transport and subsequently for the residents of Delhi.”
Talking about this partnership, Ms. Mahua Acharya, MD & CEO, CESL said that this will become a channel to build a robust charging infrastructure and propel mass adoption of electric vehicles in Delhi and NCR. She said, “CESL is aiming to complete this project by the end of December 2021 to accelerate the state government’s plan for expansion of the charging infrastructure in Delhi. We are thankful to Delhi Transport Corporation for giving us the opportunity to collaborate with them. We believe that this will mark the beginning of a stronger association not only for fulling the mandate under the EV policy but also for a larger sustainability campaign. We are confident that this will propel an ecosystem for EVs and push widespread adoption with the objective of clean transformation.”
(EW Correspondent)
