The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has invited bids to set up charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) including buses and four-wheelers, on a turnkey basis.

The scope of work includes the supply, packing, and forwarding, transportation, storage, installation and commissioning of the EV charging stations. The successful bidder will also have to provide maintenance services for ten years.

The last date for the submission of bids is April 23, 2019. The techno-commercial bids will open on April 24, 2019.

To be eligible to apply, a bidder should have manufactured/supplied, or be a charge point provider of electric vehicle DC chargers and installed at least a cumulative capacity of 50 kW, out of which at least one electric vehicle DC charger should be of 15 kW or above.

The average annual turnover of the bidder should not be less than ₹222million (~$ 3.19 million) in the last three financial years.

NTPC has taken several initiatives to develop electric vehicle charging stations in the country.

In November 2018, NTPC Limited signed a memorandum of understanding with seven vehicle aggregators namely: Ola, Lithium, Shuttl, Bikxie, Bounce, Electrie and Zoom Car, for the development and utilization of public charging infrastructure across the country.

NTPC has also been developing charging stations across its power plants and regional offices in various parts of the country. In March 2018, it awarded a contract to Exicom to develop a 120 kW and 50 kW EV off-board DC chargers for electric buses in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. The company has also been associated with companies like IOCL, HPCL, and DMRC for the development of public charging infrastructure. With these tie-ups, NTPC plans to set up an expansive network of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles to address the issue of range anxiety for these vehicles.

In June 2017, NTPC announced in a press release that the public sector undertaking would be entering the electric vehicle charging business in India with an aim to deploy charging station infrastructure across the country. Then in September 2018, Mercom reported on the news of NTPC commissioning its first electric vehicle charging station in Vishakhapatnam. NTPC is also expected to tie up with DISCOMs to supply electricity to these stations from its power projects.

Recently, Mercom reported that Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited (REIL), a public-sector enterprise operating in the electronics, information technology, and renewable energy segment, has issued a tender to set up 270 electric vehicles charging equipment across various locations in the country.