The Kerala State Electricity Board Limited (KSEB) has floated a tender for the manufacturing, supplying, drawing, testing, and commissioning of 8 km of 33 kV double circuit feeders.

The double circuit feeders are required with a 33 kV covered conductor on specially designed A-poles from the proposed 50 MW solar park at Paivalikae to the 110 kV substation at Kubanoor under the transmission circle of Kannur in the state of Kerala. The project will be executed on a turnkey basis.  The work needs to be completed by June 30, 2020.

The last date for the submission of bids is March 13, 2020, while the opening date for the pre-qualification of bids is March 16, 2020.

Interested bidders need to submit a sum of  ₹500,000 (~$6,790) as the earnest money deposit (EMD) and ₹17,700 (~$240.37) as the bid submission fee.

To bid for this project, interested bidders should have three years of experience in manufacture and supply of extra high tension (EHT), or high tension (HT) covered conductor and accessories, and at least a one year experience in the erection of high tension lines.

Apart from the commissioning of the double circuit feeder, the scope of work will also involve engineering, stage inspections, and delivery of materials with all the accessories and equipment. The successful bidder will also be responsible for the supervision of the erection and commissioning of the work.

Kerala State Electricity Board Limited will be the implementing agency of the project.  According to the KSEB, the supplier should send four sets of certified general outline drawings, technical details, and instruction manuals within a week of placement of the order.

To qualify, the applicant should be an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or their joint venture. The offered equipment needs to be designed, manufactured, and tested as per the Indian Standards/ International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

In February 2019, the Solar Energy Corporation India Ltd. (SECI) issued a tender for setting up 50 MW of solar PV projects at Kasargod Solar Park in Kerala.

Previously, it was reported that Kerala plans to develop 1,000 MW of solar projects under the SOURA program.  The SOURA program is to be jointly implemented by Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT), the state nodal agency for renewable projects. The program involves 500 MW rooftop solar, 200 MW of ground-mounted solar, 100 MW of floating solar, 150 MW of solar park, and 50 MW of canal top solar projects to be installed by 2022.