The NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the NTPC Limited, has extended the bid submission deadline of its tender for a 50 MW (AC) of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) project at Panchet in Jharkhand.

The deadline has been extended to June 4, 2020. Previously, the deadline for the submission of bids was March 30, 2020. NVVN also extended the last date for the receipt of queries of clarification from prospective bidders to May 21, 2020, from March 21, 2020, earlier.

Additionally, the tender has revised the operations and maintenance period for the project infrastructure to three years from the previous tenure of 25 years.

In March, Mercom reported that NVVN had invited bids for the solar projects at Panchet in Jharkhand.

The scope of work included the design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, testing, and commissioning of the 50 MW solar PV project on approximately 290 acres of land at Panchet in the state of Jharkhand. Interested bidders were expected to submit an amount of ₹25 million (~$333,109) as the bid security amount before the date and time for online bid submission.

To be eligible to take part in the competitive bidding process, applicants should have an electrical contractor’s license from any state or union territory of India and should submit an undertaking along with the techno-commercial bid.

Recently, Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission issued an order reducing the rate of late payment surcharges (LPS) payable by power distribution companies to power generators and transmission companies citing challenges caused by the coronavirus crisis.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, Jharkhand is one of the least developed states when it comes to solar expansion, with only 19 MW of large-scale solar projects in operations, as of March 2020. There are no projects in the pipeline currently.