The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has released an empanelment tender. The tender has been issued for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) companies, manufacturers, and system integrators to install and commission 50 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar power projects in the state.

The project capacity will vary from 1 kW to 500 kW and will be installed in residential premises, residential welfare associations, and group housing societies.

Apart from the design, manufacturing, testing, supply, installation, and commissioning of the rooftop projects, the successful bidder will also have to provide comprehensive maintenance for five years.

The last date to submit the bids is January 04, 2021, and the opening of bids will take place on January 07, 2021.

Interested bidders will have to submit an amount of ₹50,000 (~$678.31) as the earnest money deposit (EMD).

The rates discovered through this tender or the benchmark rates for FY 2020-21 (whichever is lower) will be considered for the finalization of the lowest (L1) rates and the calculation of the central financial assistance (CFA).

The tentative allocation of 50 MW will be distributed among all eligible bidders in all capacity range. Out of this 50 MW capacity, PSPCL will initially allocate a tentative 28 MW among category-A bidders and 12 MW among Category-B bidders.

It would allocate the remaining unallocated capacity of 10 MW to bidders depending upon empanelled vendors’ performance. PSPCL is also free to reduce or enhance any empaneled vendor’s allocated capacity.

To take part in the bidding process, the bidder can apply under two categories. Category A will be for those bidders who have experience of successful installation and commissioning of minimum aggregate capacity as given below:

Each Category-A bidder will initially be allocated a capacity of 250 kW, which can be enhanced later.

Similarly, Category-B will comprise bidders who are new entrepreneurs and not covered under Category-A. A maximum of 120 vendors will be empaneled under Category-B. The installation capacity offered to one firm will be 100 kW.

The successful bidder will have to submit a security deposit of ₹500,000 (~$6,783) for Category-A and ₹200,000 (~$2,713) for Category-B.

As per the tender documents, each solar project array capacity should not be less than the solar project capacity. It should comprise monocrystalline, multicrystalline, and bifacial modules of a minimum 250 watts capacity. The modules must be tested and approved by one of the IEC authorized test centers.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, Punjab has so far floated 104 MW of rooftop tenders.

In March this year, PSPCL announced that the discovered rate for a 1 kW residential rooftop solar system (with subsidy) in the state is ₹37,000 ($510)/kWh.

Earlier, the Punjab Energy Development Agency issued a request for proposal to set up 10 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar systems atop both government and private buildings in the state.