The Rajasthan Solar Park Development Company Limited (RSDCL) has invited bids for the construction of 220 kV and 132 kV transmission lines at Nokh Solar Park in Jaisalmer on a turnkey basis.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, procurement, installation, testing, and commissioning of the transmission lines on a turnkey basis. Project work would also include the fabrication, galvanization, and delivery of the transmission line supporting structure for 220 kV and 132 kV lines.

All the lines in both the lots should be completed within 15 months from the date of the issuance of the detailed purchase order.

Interested bidders will have to submit an amount of ₹11.94 million (~$176,704) as the earnest money deposit (EMD). The last date for the submission of bids is February 26, 2020, and a pre-bid meeting will take place on January 31, 2020.

To be eligible, the bidder should have successfully installed at least 80% of the route length of tendered (75.85 km) transmission lines on a turnkey basis. The bidder for the linework should own or should have assured access to the tower material having a manufacturing capacity of 5000 MT per year for tower members and at least 2500 MT of manufactured parts of 132 kV towers in the last five years.

For joint venture firms, the lead partner should have successfully surveyed and erected at least 50% of the route length within the last seven years. The other partner should have 50% of the tower manufacturing capacity and should have manufactured or supplied 50% of the complete tower parts.

Based on the financial criteria, the bidders should have a minimum annual turnover of ₹200 million (~$2.81 million) for the best three financial years of the last five.

For a joint venture, the numbers for each of the partners should be added together to determine the bidder’s compliance with the minimum financial criteria, which is ₹200 million (~$2.81 million) for the best three financial years of the last five. The lead partner of the joint venture should meet not less than 40% of the minimum financial criteria.

A few months ago, Rajasthan distribution companies had complained about the adverse financial implications in terms of load flow and transmission charges for the solar projects located there, even though there is no consumption within the state. The DISCOMs further noted they should not be bearing the burden of transmission charges or load flow, resulting in a higher point of connection charges for facilitating the transmission of power to other states.

The DISCOMs demanded a proper mechanism to share the transmission charges of interstate transmission system (ISTS) assets created for evacuating power from solar rich states. In its earlier order, the Commission had heard the concerns raised about the burden on the distribution companies related to the unused transmission assets. It was decided that the distribution companies should not bear such a burden.

The CERC previously issued a draft regulation for sharing inter-state transmission charges and losses for 2019. According to the draft, the transmission charges would be shared among the designated ISTS customers, so that the yearly transmission charges are fully covered, and any adjustment on account of the revision of transmission charges are recovered.

Meanwhile, in September 2019, Adani Transmission Limited (ATL) signed a share purchase agreement and completed the acquisition of the special purpose vehicle of Bikaner-Khetri Transmission Limited,  incorporated by PFC Consulting Ltd. ATL had won this project in Rajasthan through a tariff-based competitive bidding process and received the Letter of Intent for the project in July 2019.

Lack of transmission infrastructure has been a growing concern for solar and wind companies, and Mercom reported on this issue several times. Mercom has written about how with the expected surge in electricity demand over the coming decade and the rapid installation of solar and wind, India’s transmission and distribution systems require significant expansion.