Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) has issued multiple tenders to develop solar projects of 615 MW in aggregate capacity split into four different regions of the state. The ground-mounted projects would be built on government-owned land.

The tenders include projects with a capacity of 100 MW in Aurangabad-II, 76 MW, and 105 MW in Aurangabad-III, 143 MW in the Pune region, and another 191 MW in the Konkan region of the state.

The last date for the submission of bids is May 8, 2023. Bids will be opened on the same day.

MSEDCL has set a ceiling tariff of ₹3.20 (~$0.03)/kWh for all projects

Bidders must submit an earnest money deposit of ₹100,000 (~$1,224)/MW, and each bidder can submit only one bid.

The winning bidders must provide a performance bank guarantee (PBG) of ₹500,000 (~$6,109)/MW within 30 days from the issuance of the work order. It will remain valid for 14 months from the effective date.

The power purchase agreement (PPA)m will be signed within one month from the date of issue of the Letter of Award (LoA) and will be valid for 25 years from the commercial operation date of the proposed/new solar power projects.

The declared Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF) must be at least 19% over a year. The generator must maintain generation to achieve a CUF within ±10% of the declared value during the PPA period.

The project should be commissioned within 12 months from the effective date, and SLDC/MSEDCL will issue certificates.

If the project is not commissioned by the scheduled commercial operation date, MSEDCL will retain the PBG.

Bidders must have a net worth of ₹5.5 million ($67,199)/MW on the last day of the previous financial year, and their minimum net annual turnover should be ₹2.5 million ($30,544)/MW.

In addition, bidders must obtain a written approval letter from a bank that is ready to provide a credit line of ₹1.25 million (~$15,272)/MW to meet the working capital requirements.

The project must be designed to deliver energy at 11/22 kV level of MSEDCL substation.

The successful bidder will be responsible for obtaining grid connectivity with MSEDCL and submitting documentary evidence of securing connectivity within 6 months of the effective date.

The bidder must also bear the entire cost of transmission, including construction, maintenance, and losses from the project up to the delivery point.

Connectivity can be arranged through a dedicated line or sharing a line, but sharing will be at the bidder’s discretion provided there is a legally binding agreement between the bidder and other parties sharing the same line for not less than 25 years.

Earlier in the month, MSEDCL also invited bids to procure 225 MW of power from decentralized solar projects of 500 kW to 2 MW under component-A of the Pradhan Mantri-Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) program.

In January, MSEDCL invited bids to procure 350 MW of solar power from projects to be developed in the state.

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