Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) has issued a tender for setting up 100 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in and around Bangalore. The bid-submission deadline is February 20, 2019. All the charging stations will be AC charging stations.

The scope of work includes, “Location survey, estimation and obtaining work orders from concerned division, supply, testing, erection and commissioning of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) along with associated civil and electrical works.”

The successful bidder will be responsible for operation and maintenance (O&M) of the EVSE infrastructure for a period of three years. The successful bidder will also provide guarantee for the EVSE equipment and materials for a period of 12 months from the date of operational acceptance by BESCOM.

The bidder has to either be and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of EVSE or authorized agency for OEM of EVSE. If the bidder is an OEM, they should have designed, manufactured, supplied and installed at least 15 units of EVSE cumulatively in India during Financial Year (FY) 2015-16, FY 2016-17, FY 2017-18 up to September 2018. If the bidder is an authorized agency of the OEM, the agency should have supplied, installed and commissioned at least 15 units of EVSE in India during FY 2015-16, FY 2016-17, FY 2017-18 up to Sep-2018 cumulatively. The annual turnover of the bidder has to be at least 25 percent of the amount put to tender in any of the preceding three financial years (FY-2015-16, FY-2016-17 and FY 2017-18). The bidder has to be a registered entity in India under Companies Act or Partnership Act or Proprietorship Act.

When contacted, Mercom’s source at BESCOM said, “Yes, we have issued a new tender for 100 AC EV charging stations. BESCOM’s plan is to be ahead when it comes to new avenues of revenue generation. In a tech savvy city like Bangalore, people will be soon switching to EVs and BESCOM will have to be ready with charging stations. Our charging stations will provide a rudimentary network of EV charging points across the city which in turn will help in development of better infrastructure when more stakeholders in the development of the city take notice.”

In February 2018, Mercom reported about BESCOM’s plan to launch 11 fast-charging stations for the city’s EVs. As the use of EVs increases, BESCOM plans to add more charging stations in a phased manner to meet growing demand.

The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) program was announced by the Karnataka government in January 2018. Under the program, the state plans to procure 640 EVs, including electric buses, three-wheelers, and four-wheelers.

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