Punjab State Power Corporation (PSPCL) has invited bids to procure power from 200 MW solar projects with a minimum capacity of 5 MW each, located in Punjab, through e-bidding under the Swiss Challenge method.

The Swiss Challenge is a process where a proponent submits a bid. The government then publicly shares the project details and invites other interested parties to submit their proposals. The proponent can match the lowest bid or offer an even lower price. If the proponent company is successful, it is awarded the contract. If it does not match or surpass the lowest bid, the contract is awarded to the party with the lowest bid.

The initial bid submitted by the proponent for this tender is ₹2.75 (~$0.033)/kWh. Bidders should quote a tariff less than the proponent’s bid.

The last day to submit the bids is June 30, 2023. Bids will be opened on July 4.

Bidders must submit a non-refundable processing fee of ₹300,000 (~$3,633) and an earnest money deposit of ₹400,000 (~$4,844)/MW. They should also remit ₹100,000 (~$1,211) as a bidding fee for the Swiss Challenge.

The net worth of the bidder should be at least ₹10 million (~$121,109)/MW of the quoted capacity as of the last day of the previous financial year.

The bidder’s minimum annual turnover should be ₹5 million (~$60,554)/MW of the quoted capacity during the previous financial year or seven days before the bid submission deadline.

The bidder should have an internal resource generation capability in the form of profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes for a minimum of ₹1 million (~$12,111)/MW of the quoted capacity as of the previous financial year.

The bidder should have an in-principle sanction from a lending institution, committing a line of credit for a minimum of ₹1.25 million (~$15,139)/MW of the quoted capacity toward meeting the working capital requirement.

Projects under construction, projects which are not yet commissioned, and projects already commissioned but do not have any long-term committed power purchase agreement with any agency and selling power on a short-term or merchant plant basis will be considered. However, these projects must not be accepted under any other central or state programs and should not have any obligations toward existing buyers.

Only PSPCL or Punjab State Transmission Corporation grid-connected intrastate projects would be eligible.

The declared annual capacity utilization factor (CUF) should be at least 19%.

If the generation is over and above 10% of the declared annual CUF, the developer will be free to sell it to any other entity, with the first right of refusal vesting with PSPCL. If PSPCL purchases the excess generation, 75% of the PPA tariff will apply.

The solar modules used should be listed in the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

Last April, PSPCL invited bids to procure power from 1 GW of solar projects with a minimum capacity of 5 MW located in Punjab through a long-term tariff-based competitive bidding process.

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