EESL Partners With Apollo Hospitals To Install Public Charging Stations

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power has announced its first partnership with the private sector. The world's largest public energy services company (ESCO) has signed a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Apollo Hospitals to install public charging stations across its hospitals in India. The aim is to boost e-mobility across the country and the tie-up will help set-up the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Under the MoU, EESL will make the entire upfront investment on specified services and deploy the manpower required for the operation and maintenance of the public charging infrastructure. Meanwhile, Apollo Hospitals will provide the requisite space and power connections for the charging network to EESL.

Commenting on the announcement, Venkatesh Dwivedi, Director - Projects, EESL said, "Developing a strong supporting infrastructure is vital to build consumer confidence in electric vehicles. Our MoU with Apollo Hospitals reinforces the role of the private sector in achieving the goal of National Electric Mobility Programme. Electric mobility is vital to reducing airborne emissions and enhancing air quality, a cause the healthcare sector can resonate with. We look forward to more such multi-sectoral partnerships to accelerate the adoption of EVs across the country."

The move is part of the government's National Electric Mobility Programme. EESL has commissioned 300 AC and 170 DC chargers across India and has established 55 public operational charging points in Delhi-NCR. The company has also partnered with Urban Local bodies in Hyderabad, Noida, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chennai, among other locations, to further penetrate the charging infrastructure.

EESL procures the electric vehicles and chargers in bulk, which allows the company to source them at significantly discounted rates, lower than the actual market value. This allows the company to carry out operations at competitive project costs, which it says has helped the firm establish a sustainable business model that is affordable for the end consumer.

With the government aggressive towards the adoption of electric vehicles in India, the charging infrastructure that remains nascent at present has always been a concern. Initiatives like these though will certainly help create enough charging locations to support electric mobility that is just gaining traction in the country.