Maharashtra discom issues tender for solar power supply

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co (MSEDCL) has invited bids to procure power from 500-MW inter- or intra-state grid-connected solar power projects, offering long-term contracts. The last day to submit the bids is August 30, 2022. The bid opening date will be announced later. Bidders must pay Rs 25,000 ($319) towards the cost of bidding documents and Rs 300,000 ($3,791) as a non-refundable bid processing fee. They must also submit an earnest money deposit of Rs 472,000 ($5,965)/MW of quoted capacity. Successful bidders must submit Rs 1.3 million ($16,419)/MW of quoted capacity as a performance bank guarantee. MSEDCL will enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the selected bidders to purchase solar power for 25 years from the scheduled commercial operation date in the case of proposed or new solar projects. For existing projects, the tenure would be 25 years from the PPA execution date. The minimum project capacity for intra-state projects will be 25 MW at a single location. For inter-state projects, the minimum project capacity will be 50 MW at a single location with a minimum bid capacity of 50 MW. According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, MSEDCL has floated tenders for 19.8 GW of solar projects. See also: Maha CM announces Rs 39,000 cr funds for MSEDCLIndia to invest $20 trillion to achieve net zero by 2070