The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) has invited bids to procure 500 MW of power on a long-term basis from 500 MW (Phase IX) of grid-connected intrastate solar power projects. The last date to submit the bids online is November 9, 2022. Bids will be opened on the same day. Bidders must submit a non-refundable processing fee of Rs 300,000 ($3,674) to participate in the process. They must also submit Rs 472,000 ($5,781)/MW as an earnest money deposit. The successful bidder will have to furnish Rs 1.29 million ($15,800)/MW as a performance bank guarantee. Only commercially established and operational technologies can be used for these projects. MSEDCL will enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the selected bidder for 25 years from the scheduled commercial operation date. Projects eligible for this tender include projects under construction, projects that are not yet commissioned, and those already commissioned not having any long-term PPA with any agency and selling power on a short-term basis. Such projects should not have already been accepted under other central or state programmes. The minimum project capacity must be 25 MW at a single location with a minimum bid capacity of 50 MW for projects. The maximum bidding capacity for a single bidder is 500 MW, subject to satisfying the technical and financial criteria. Further, the project capacity should be in multiples of 25 MW beyond the minimum project capacity of 25 MW. The net worth of bidders for the last financial year should not be less than Rs 10 million ($122,486)/MW. The minimum annual turnover of bidders during the last financial year should be at least Rs 3.52 million ($43,115)/MW of the quoted capacity. According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, MSEDCL has floated tenders for 19.2 GW of solar projects. See also: Adani Power to acquire Diliigent Power and DB PowerCCI approves acquisition of Mytrah Energy by JSW Neo Energy