Public-private partnership model for operating electric vehicles, especially buses, will help state transport undertakings (STUs) deploy more such zero-emission vehicles in the coming years, according to India Ratings and Research.
The contractual model of operating electric vehicles has been devised by the government to make it easier for STUs to procure electric vehicles which are more expensive than those with combustion engine.
Most of these state transport organizations are running in losses and purchasing a large fleet of electric buses otherwise would have been financial unviable.
India Ratings said public-private partnership model (gross contract model) for running electric buses will gradually gain momentum among state transport undertakings. The central government’s push through the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) policy and incentives through fund allocations have led to at least 4,580 electric four-wheeler vehicles, including electric buses, operating during FY21, the ratings firm in a statement.
The government has been urging vehicle manufacturers to increase their investments in development and manufacturing of electric vehicles to reduce pollution and import of crude oil. Through the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicle scheme, it wants to push adoption of electric vehicles in the public transport space by deploying ₹7,090 electric buses with an outlay of ₹3,545 crore and 35,000 four-wheelers with ₹525 crore.
“The contract structure of e-mobility projects resembles availability-based concessions such as hybrid annuity model (HAM) based road and waste-water treatment projects. Hence, Ind-Ra would apply “Rating Criteria for Availability-Based Projects” in addition to the master criteria for infrastructure projects. While the operator’s capability is an essential rating consideration, the agency sees the operating risk to be moderate,” the ratings firm said.
It further said projects under execution, subsidy receipts from the authority have been timely reinforcing the government’s focus on this electric vehicles sector. The success of the model depends on the predictability and the certainty of income receipts.
Source: livemint.com
