State-owned Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), has issued a tender for the procurement of 1,00,000 electric three-wheelers (E3W) on Friday (6 August).

This tender is the one-of-its-kind issued by any government entity ever. A request for proposals has been issued inviting original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to provide proposals for E3W under different use-cases, including municipal solid waste collection, freight loaders, food and vaccine transport and passenger autos.

“This initiative of deploying E3Ws for refrigerated cold storage and vaccine drives will, in turn, make India’s COVID recovery green and eco- friendly,” CESL said in a statement.

CESL will lease these vehicles to entities that wish to avail themselves of such leasing services. CESL will also make these E3Ws available through its digital platform for resale to any entity interested in outright purchase.

The government of India has entrusted EESL with the successful implementation of the remodelled FAME II policy. This tender is another step towards achieving the policy targets. All E3Ws must comply with FAME-II policy requirements.

The scope of work for the OEM(s) includes designing, engineering, manufacturing, testing, inspection, supply, transportation, complete system warranty and transit insurance, delivery to the end-consumer and providing after-sales support.

This tender also includes demand from cities that wish to change their garbage fleet from fossil fuels to electric.

Through this procurement, CESL aims to achieve cost reduction, standardise the demand for E3Ws and maintain high-quality products through quality assurance and quality control procedures of CESL.