Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (JREDA) has invited bids for the installation and commissioning of 8,000 off-grid solar pumping systems of different capacities under Component B of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) program.

The successful bidder will also have to take care of the operation and maintenance of the solar systems for five years.

The last date to submit the bids is September 4, 2023. Bids will be opened on September 6.

Bidders must submit an amount equivalent to 2% of the contract value, amounting to ₹2.56 million (~$30,826), as an earnest money deposit.

The successful bidder must furnish an amount equivalent to 3% of the contract value, which comes to ₹3.84 million (~$46,238) as a performance bank guarantee.

The vendor should complete the installation and commissioning of solar pumps within 120 days from the notice to proceed.

To be eligible, the bidder should be a manufacturer of solar modules, solar pumps, or solar pump controllers using indigenous technology and have experience in similar works.

Also, the bidder should have experience in the design, supply, erection, testing, installation, and commissioning of 300 standalone (off-grid) solar water pump sets for any government department, public sector undertaking of any state or central in India in the last seven years as of the last day of bid submission.

The net worth of the bidder during the last financial year should not be less than the paid-up capital.

The minimum average annual turnover of the bidder during any three financial years out of the last five financial years should be at least ₹128.16 million (~$1.54 million).

Also, the bidder’s firm should be profitable in at least two of the last four financial years.

JREDA has mandated the use of solar panels with indigenous solar cells and modules to be used for the project. Further, the motor pump set, controller, and the balance of system should also be manufactured indigenously.

In the case of a delay in the execution of the order or delay in maintenance, the successful bidder will have to pay a sum equivalent to 0.5 % of the value of the delayed solar pumps installation or on the unexecuted portion of the work for each week of the delay, subject to a maximum of 10% of the total value.

In June this year, JREDA invited bids to empanel agencies to install and commission 12 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar projects for residential consumers in the Giridih Municipal Area under the Solar City program.

Last year, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy announced amendments to the tender provisions for empaneling vendors under Component B of the PM-KUSUM program. As per the amendments, the rates discovered in the centralized tender will serve as a ceiling for any bids called by the state implementing agencies.

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