The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. (MSEDCL) issued a Request for Selection to procure 200 MW of wind energy from intra-state wind power projects with expired or soon-to-be expired energy purchase agreement (EPA).

The intrastate projects which are already supplying power to MSEDCL under existing EPAs, which have either already expired or would expire on or before December 31, 2020, are eligible to participate in the bidding process.

The ceiling tariff for the tender is ₹2.52 (~$0.034). The last date for the submission of bids is October 6, 2020.

Prospective bidders must pay ₹25,000 (~$340) towards the cost of RfS documents, along with ₹10,000 (~$136) as the bid processing fee. Prospective bidders must also pay an earnest money deposit (EMD) of ₹100,000 (~$1,359)/MW.

Wind power projects having an individual size of at least 0.50 MW at one site can participate in this tender.

MSEDCL would enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the selected bidders to purchase wind power for seven years from the date of execution of PPA or the date of expiry of their EPA for existing wind power projects.

The successful bidders can operate their projects after seven years from the date of execution of the PPA  if other conditions like land lease allow such an extension. However, any extension of the PPA period beyond seven years should be through a mutual agreement between the successful bidder and MSEDCL.

The successful bidder would also be responsible for operation and maintenance (O&M) of the transmission and distribution network up to the delivery point at its own cost. They should install the complete system for real-time data visibility as per the norms of the state load dispatch center within six months of PPA execution.

If the successful bidder is a single bidding entity, its shareholding in the entity should be below 51% before one year from the date of execution of the PPA. However, in case the project is being set up by a public limited company, this condition will not be applicable. In the case of a consortium, the combined shareholding should not fall below 51%.

Recently, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission said in an order that energy injection without valid EPAs would not be compensated.

Last year, the state DISCOM received the approval from the MERC for deviations in the standard bidding document for the long-term procurement of 500 MW of wind power. The approval was sought for wind projects for which the energy purchase agreements had expired or were about to expire in FY 2019-20.

Previously, the Commission had directed MSEDCL to procure wind power through the competitive bidding route from wind power projects whose EPAs with MSEDCL had expired. In that order, the Commission had mentioned that as the wind generators had their EPAs with MSEDCL for several years and their projects were already commissioned, MSEDCL may take appropriate deviations from provisions of the competitive bidding guidelines with prior approval. The rate discovered in the bidding process would be dealt with by the MERC during the tariff adoption process for meeting the requirement of fulfilling its non-solar RPO.