The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has approved Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam’s (GUVNL) petition to adopt a tariff of ₹372,978 (~$4,350.36)/MW/Month to procure 250 MW/ 500 MWh storage capacity from standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS).

Background

The petitioner, GUVNL, approached the Commission to adopt the tariffs discovered in the auction to procure storage capacity from a 250 MW/500 MWh standalone BESS with an additional greenshoe option of 250 MW/500 MWh.

This procurement is to support the state to meet its renewable purchase obligation (RPO) and energy storage obligation (ESO) targets.

The petitioner submitted that its bidding process was transparent and conducted per the Electricity Act, 2003 and guidelines issued by the central government. It detailed the tender process, including the publication of tender documents, pre-bid meetings, and the evaluation of technical and financial bids.

Additionally, the petitioner argued that the rates discovered were lower than previous auction for GUVNL Phase-II concluded in March 2024, and other auctions by the central bidding agencies in the past two years.

Gensol Engineering, the successful bidder, accepted the discovered tariff and had no objections to its adoption.

The petitioner and Gensol Engineering are yet to sign the battery energy storage purchase agreement (BESPA).

Commission’s Analysis

GERC sought and received clarifications from GUVNL on technical and operational details, including safety aspects and the methodology for selecting the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation (GETCO) sub-stations to install the battery energy storage systems.

The Commission observed that the petitioner’s bidding process was transparent, competitive, and adhered to established guidelines. It also noted that the successful bidder had no objection to the tariff.

The Commission approved a tariff of ₹372,978 (~$4,350.36)/MW/Month based on GUVNL’s compliance with ESO and RPO targets.

Additionally, the Commission acknowledged that the discovered tariff was lower than previous tariffs.

The Commission did not pass an order on the tender’s greenshoe option. It directed GUVNL and Gensol Engineering to make their submissions regarding this modality within seven days of the order.

It also directed the petitioner to sign the BESPA with the selected bidder and share copies of the signed BESPA and its relevant details.

The petitioner was also mandated to share the names of its tender’s successful bidders, their quoted tariffs, and the amount breakup. This information will stay on the petitioner’s website for 30 days.

Recently, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission approved the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company’s (MSEDCL) petition to procure 250 MW/500 MWh battery storage capacity with an additional 500 MW/1,000 MWh greenshoe capacity at a tariff of ₹219,001 (~$2,560)/MW/month for 12 years. The energy procured from these projects will contribute to MSEDCL’s energy storage obligation.

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