The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission has authorised BSES Rajdhani Power Limited to initiate competitive bidding for the installation of a 97.5 megawatt (MW) and 195 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system across five grid substations in south and west Delhi. The approval, issued on June 18, allows the utility to proceed with procurement and project selection.

The storage facilities are planned for substations at Dwarka, Bindapur, Hari Nagar, Sagarpur and Pappankala-2 and will collectively deliver 97.5 MW of power and 195 MWh of storage. Each installation is designed to discharge for up to two hours to meet peak demand and to support network stability.

The project is expected to improve supply reliability and to facilitate the integration of renewable generation, and is projected to benefit around 266,000 consumers in the two regions. Regulators said the scheme forms part of efforts to reduce reliance on costly peak-hour supply and to enhance operational flexibility.

The proposal builds on an earlier 20 MW and 40 MWh facility at Kilokari and mirrors wider industry moves towards distributed storage assets. BRPL told the regulator that the new scheme could yield annual savings of Rs 883.5 million (mn) through lower power procurement costs and improved reliability, and that the selected developer will own and operate the assets while savings are passed to consumers through reduced power purchase costs.

Battery energy storage systems store electricity when demand is low and release it when demand rises, enabling load shifting and peak shaving to relieve pressure on local networks. The installations are also intended to make better use of solar generation by capturing surplus output and deploying it during high demand windows.