Bondada Engineering, Oriana Power, and Pace Digitek have won Telangana Power Generation Corporation’s (TGGENCO) auction to set up 250 MW/500 MWh standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Telangana.

Bondada Engineering and Oriana Power won 50 MW/100 MWh each at a tariff of ₹240,347 (~$ 2,804.84)/MW/month and ₹245,152 (~$ 2,860.92)/MW/month, respectively.

Pace Digitek won 125 MW/250 MWh at a tariff of ₹245,153 (~$ 2,860.93)/MW/month.

Out of the total capacity of 250 MW, only 225 MW was awarded. The remaining 25 MW was not awarded as the minimum bid size must be at least 100 MWh, i.e., 50 MW X 2 hours.

The tender was floated in January 2025.

Successful bidders must set up the projects using their chosen battery technology and connect them to the state transmission network.

However, the BESS projects must employ commercially established and operational technologies to minimize technology risks and achieve timely project commissioning.

They must make the BESS available for two operational cycles per day. They must also guarantee a minimum system availability of 95% annually.

The projects must draw power from the state distribution companies (DISCOMs) for charging. They will supply power to the DISCOM network per the dispatch instructions from the state load dispatch center.

Successful bidders can avail viability gap funding (VGF) of ₹2.7 million (~$32,114)/MWh or 30% of the project’s capital cost, whichever is lower.

Telangana aims to achieve 3,805 MW and 7,917 MW of BESS and pumped storage project capacity by the financial year 2030 and 2035, respectively.

Recently, the Ministry of Power directed all states and implementing agencies to award all BESS contracts by June 2025 to enable the VGF program to be completed by May 2027. Due to a decline in BESS prices in the recent past, a higher BESS capacity of 13,200 MWh, up from 4,000 MWh, is envisaged as part of the VGF program.

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