India: Maharashtra discom issues 1 GW tender with tariff cap

From pv magazine India

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has issued a 1 GW tender for procuring power on a long-term basis. A ceiling tariff of Rs 2.80 (US$0.039) has been set. The deadline for bid submissions is January 3, 2019.

According to the discom’s official website, in order to fulfill its renewable power purchase obligation (RPO) and to meet future power requirements, MSEDCL shall enter into 25-year power purchase agreements (PPA) from the Commercial Operation Date in the case of proposed/new solar power projects, or for existing projects, from the date of execution of the PPA.

The minimum project capacity for intra-state projects is 5 MW at a single location, with a minimum bid capacity of 5 MW for projects outside solar parks, while for inter-state projects, the minimum capacity is 50 MW at a single location.

It is mandatory that bidders identify 100% of the land required for the project at the time of their bid submission.

The projects must also be commissioned within a period of 13 months from the date of execution of the PPA. However, those with a capacity of 250 MW and above and developed outside of a solar park, will have 15 months from the date of execution of the PPA.

Furthermore, successful bidders will have to submit documentary evidence of having secured grid connectivity from CTU/STU/DISCOM within seven months from the date of the signing of the PPA.

To date, Maharashtra has installed 1.1 GW of solar projects, and has a further 350 MW in the pipeline. Overall, it has a target of 7.5 GW of solar power generation capacity by 2019.

Of the 1.095 GW of rooftop solar capacity in India, Maharashtra leads the way, both in terms of number of systems and installed capacity (145 MW), according to data from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).