India’s first commercial standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) project with a 20MW/40MWh capacity at the distribution company level and a tariff approved by the electricity regulatory authority has been commissioned by power sector infrastructure investment trust IndiGrid in Delhi.

The Kilokari BESS project was awarded to IndiGrid in October 2023 by BSES Rajdhani Power (BRPL).

The project’s levelized annual tariff of ₹5.7 million (~$66,944)/MW/year, nearly 55% lower than the previous benchmark ₹13 million (~$151,089)/MW/year, was approved by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission in May last year.

Kilokari BESS is a special purpose vehicle formed by a consortium of IndiGrid 2 and Amperehour Solar Technology.

The BESS project has been designed to integrate renewable energy into the distribution level grid system, facilitate grid stabilization, manage peak power demand, and address various ancillary needs. It will support in lowering power procurement costs and defer the need to upgrade the capacity at the Kilokari 33/11 kV power substation.

The project is supported by Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet which is targeting 1 GW of BESS commitments in India by 2026, aligning with India’s aim to deploy 47 GW of BESS by 2032.

IndiGrid’s portfolio includes 41 power projects, comprising 49 transmission lines with an approximate length of 8,700 ckm, 15 substations with a transformation capacity of 22,550 MVA, 855 MW of solar generation capacity, and 450 MW/900 MWh of BESS.

India’s total BESS capacity reached 219.1 MWh as of March 2024, according to Mercom India Research’s report, India’s Energy Storage Landscape. According to the report, 1.6 GWh (~1 GW) of standalone BESS, 9.7 GW of renewable energy projects with energy storage, and 78.1 GW of pumped hydro projects were in various stages of development as of March 2024.

Earlier this year, IndiGrid reported a consolidated revenue of ₹7.72 billion (~$89.53 million) in the third quarter of the financial year 2025, marking a 2.4% year-over-year increase from ₹7.54 billion (~$87.45 million).