Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) Limited, a government-owned manufacturer of telecommunication equipment, has issued a tender to procure 600,000 kWh of solar power monthly from offsite ground-mounted projects for its facility in Karnataka. The company will procure solar power through open access for ten years.

ITI plans to increase the use of renewable energy in its data center facility to bring it under “Green Data Centre” tag and reduce carbon emissions.

Bidders are expected to quote a levelized tariff for the entire term of the power purchase agreement (PPA) for the electricity delivered at the injection point. All other charges from the injection point such as wheeling charges, regulatory charges, taxes, and electricity duties are going to be borne by the offtaker. ITI guarantees offtake of a minimum 80% of the contracted energy at the injection point each year.

The Bidder would be responsible for identifying the location for the project, land acquisition, installation, commissioning, power evacuation, securing all necessary approvals (including open access approvals), undertake feasibility studies for setting up the solar project.

The successful bidders will be responsible for obtaining approvals, consents, permits, clearances, and licenses for the operation of the project and the supply of electricity to ITI. Maintenance of wheeling and banking approvals will also be the responsibility of Bidder.

The developer of the project will have to execute a wheeling and banking Agreement (WBA) with the respective distribution company in Karnataka under the prescribed norms applicable to the solar power project and identifying the offtaker as a ‘non-exclusive consumer’.

Successful bidders are given 180 days from the date of receiving open access approvals for achieving the scheduled commercial operation of the project.

The bid submission deadline for this tender is October 10, 2019.

In March 2019, the Karnataka High Court quashed an order issued by the KERC relating to an increase in wheeling charges for open access power consumers in the state. The Karnataka High Court order had brought relief to all renewable energy generators trading power through open access in the state.

Image credit: Amplus Solar

Shaurya is a staff reporter at MercomIndia.com with experience working in the Indian solar energy industry for the past four years in various roles. Prior to joining Mercom, Shaurya worked with a renewable energy developer and a consulting company. Shaurya holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Management from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom.