Having launched an electric two-wheeler sales scheme for government employees in Kerala, Convergence Energy Services Ltd. (CESL) is hoping to play a bigger role in helping the State chant the e-mobility mantra.
The newly established subsidiary of the State-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd. (EESL) is planning an electric three-wheeler scheme for garbage removal trucks. The CESL is also in talks with the Kochi Metro Rail Limited for operating feeder buses for last-mile connectivity, its managing director and CEO Mahua Acharya told The Hindu on Wednesday.
“We feel that Kerala consumers are ready (for e-vehicles). In the two-wheeler market there are plenty of options. We would like to promote electric three-wheelers for garbage disposal. Isn’t it a little bit ironic, using a diesel-powered vehicle to pick up the garbage? e-vehicles are silent and cleaner,” Ms. Acharya said.
The CESL has launched the digital marketplace, MyEV (www.myev.org.in), to make things easier for the consumer. Efforts are on to make vehicle prices more attractive through subsidies and long-term loans, she said. “Affordability is the big issue for the consumer. We are doing the financial structuring at the back-end so that e-vehicle competes closely with their fossil fuel equivalents. We are trying to bring down the sticker price,” she said.
High cost of batteries
The high cost of batteries, a major concern for buyers, is expected to come down. “The battery decides everything,” she pointed out. In the long run, the CESL also hopes to introduce exchange schemes which help remove old fossil fuel two-wheelers from the roads.
At the national level, the CESL is involved in initiatives ranging from decentralised solar power projects to e-mobility to solarising feeders. In nine cities, the CESL is equipping public transport with electric buses, Ms. Acharya said. The cities include the four metros plus Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Surat, and Pune. Kerala is not on the list, but in the State, the CESL is in discussions with the Kochi metro for the role of mobility service provider, she added.
In two to three weeks, the CESL also plans to roll out a battery energy storage programme, Ms. Acharya said. It is designed as a convergence of e-mobility and the power distribution business, creating multiple revenue streams for battery storage.
