The Southern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh Limited (APSPDCL) has tendered 4 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) projects to be developed in Tirupati and Vijaywada.

The bid-submission deadline is April 7, 2018.

The projects will be developed on turnkey basis and the scope of work includes the design, manufacture, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of the grid-connected rooftop solar PV projects. The successful bidders will provide the operation and maintenance (O&M) services for a period of five years and will also be responsible for the material warranty for five years.

According to the tender, the modules should be manufactured in India only. Rest of the components can be procured from any source.

The grid-connected rooftop solar PV projects will be developed on identified domestic consumers’ buildings in Tirupati and Vijayawada under APSPDCL license area.

APSPDCL has fixed the upper tariff ceiling at ₹0.07 million (~$1,076)/kW for this tender.

Both Tirupati and Vijaywada will get 2 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar PV projects each. Metering and grid connectivity of the rooftop solar PV systems will be the responsibility of the successful bidders. APSPDCL will provide the bi-directional meters for the installation at project sites.

The project completion timeframe is nine months from the date of issue of letter of award (LoA). According to APSPDCL, a single bidder will be awarded a maximum 1 MW. In case the lowest bidder (L1) has bid for more than 1 MW, and no other bidder is willing to match L1 price, then the remaining capacity will be awarded to the L1 bidder.

A single bidder can only bid for one package, either Tirupati or Vijaywada.

If the bidder fails to commission the project within nine months, a penalty on per day basis calculated for the performance security on a three month period would be levied by APSPDCL.

After the three months, the contract will be cancelled and the performance bank guarantee pertaining to the non- commissioned capacity will be forfeited by APSPDCL.

In 2017, Mercom had reported that the APSPDCL tendered 10 MW of solar projects to be developed in the state.

Image credit: Mahindra Susten