Electric vehicles (EVs) deployed in the national capital on Saturday completed two crore kilometres on the road. Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), a wholly owned subsidiary of government-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), said this has resulted in a reduction of 500 kg of particulate matter emissions, contributing significantly to cleaner air and health benefits for the public. About 3,573 tonnes of carbon emission has been avoided since the deployment of EVs and Rs 8.6 crore have been saved in terms of monetary value.
The two crore e-kilometres also contributes to 13.3 lakh litres saving in fuel consumption. A total of 565 CESL EVs are running in the national capital region with more consumers being encouraged to switch to EVs. There has been a rise of more than 140% year-on-year in sales of electric cars that shows gradual acceptance of the technology among the climate-conscious.
Delhi has become the EV hub of India, accounting for half of the total ‘electric-kilometres’ in India. The government is the biggest demand generator with most ministries, government companies and other agencies converting at least some part of their fleet into electric.
“This is an important step towards India building out an ecosystem for electric mobility. CESL is bringing together initiatives to invest in clean energy and clean transportation. With our planned investments in 20,000 electric vehicles, India is expected to save over 6.4 crore litres of fuel every year leading to a reduction of over 5.6 lakh tonnes of annual CO2 emissions,” said Mahua Acharya, Managing Director and CEO of CESL.
The adoption of EVs in India is being encouraged by the government with a target to reach 30% by 2030. Nearly 70% of all commercial cars, 30% of private cars, 40% of buses and 80% of two-wheelers and three-wheelers will be electric. About Rs 1,000 crore has been allocated to provide up to 70% capital subsidy for public charging stations. The government has also clarified that setting up charging stations and charging EVs is a delicensed activity an important step towards unleashing private enterprise and innovation. Special tariffs have also been issued by many states. Delhi has a target of 25% EVs for all new vehicle registrations by 2024.
