State-owned power transmission company, the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), has extended the bid submission deadline for its tender to establish transmission systems to evacuate power from solar energy zones (SEZs) in Rajasthan.

The deadline for submission of bids is revised to June 17, 2020, for soft copy and June 19, 2020, for the hard copy. Previously, Mercom reported that the deadlines were May 13, 2020, for soft copies, and May 15, 2020, for hard copies.

The PGCIL invited bids in April under phase II, part-A of the transmission program for the evacuation of power from solar energy zones in Rajasthan (8.1 GW). Interested bidders were asked to make an earnest money deposit (EMD) of ₹20 million (~$265,725).

The scope of work includes conducting a detailed survey, design, prototyping, fabrication, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of the transmission lines. The work would also include the destringing and dismantling of the existing transmission lines.

The project has two packages– one transmission line package each at Ramgarh-II SEZ PP-Fatehgarh-II (TW01) and Ramgarh-II-Jaisalmer-II (TW02) – and they both require the installation of a 400 kW D/C Line (Twin high-temperature low sag (HTLS) with a minimum capacity of 2,200 MVA on each circuit at nominal voltage).

The projects are given 15 months to complete from the date of notice of award.

Earlier, the PGCIL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL) under which the PGCIL will provide project management consultancy services for a transmission system to evacuate power from 1,500 MW of solar projects in Madhya Pradesh. The solar parks are located in Neemuch, Shajapur, and Agar districts, and the total estimated project cost is ₹556 million (~$7.4 million). The consultancy cost is approximately ₹444.8 million (~$5.9 million).

More recently, the PGCIL received a letter from the Ministry of Power asking it to consider offering a rebate of about 20-25% to distribution companies on the inter-state transmission charges levied by it. The rebates will be provided for passing on the benefit to the end consumer.

The lack of transmission infrastructure has been a major concern for solar and wind developers in the country. A PGCIL report states that with the expected doubling of electricity demand over the coming decade, India’s transmission and distribution system will also require significant expansion.