NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. (NVVN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC, has announced a tender to procure and operate 250 air-conditioned (AC) electric buses. The electric buses will be purchased for the cities of Jabalpur, Bhopal, and Indore in Madhya Pradesh.

The tender includes the annual maintenance contract (AMC) of the electric buses for ten years. The bids have been invited for 50 buses for the city of Jabalpur, 100 buses for the city of Bhopal, and 100 buses for the city of Indore under the ‘Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II (FAME India Phase II) program.

The scope for the procurement of electric buses includes the design, manufacturing, and supply of 250 fully electric AC buses. The tender for Jabalpur has added scope of manufacturing of the prototype buses and its approval from NVVN and state transport undertaking.

The purview for the operation of electric buses includes the operation of the buses on the given routes as per the statutory rules and regulations in the state, adhering to the time schedules indicated by NVVN and the authorities. The breath of the contract also includes regular day to day maintenance activities, providing all other consumables required for the operation, charges, penalties for non-compliance of rules, and all other statutory taxes and duties payable for the uninterrupted operations of the buses.

NVVN intends to finance the procurement of electric buses through external commercial borrowings, domestic commercial borrowings, and own sources.

The last date for the submission of the bids is November 6, 2019, and the interested bidders need to pay a sum of ₹3.75 million (~$26,415) as bid security for Jabalpur, ₹625,000 (~$8,872) and ₹1.25 (~$17,744) for the cities of Indore and Bhopal.

In March 2019, NVVN had also invited bids for the procurement of 100 electric buses for the state of Goa.

Earlier this year, Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company proposed the tariff for electric vehicle and electric rickshaw charging infrastructure in the state. This has been passed in a revised version of the total revenue requirement and tariff petition for the financial year FY 2019-20.

Image credit: DKMcLaren [CC BY-SA 4.0]