The REC Power Distribution Company Limited (RECPDCL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of REC Limited, has invited bids to select an owner’s engineer for 125 MW of grid-connected solar projects. The tender is limited to agencies that are empaneled with RECPDCL.

The project capacity is set to be distributed between two districts of the state – Kanpur Dehat (50 MW) and Jalaun (75 MW).

The scope of work includes site assessment and review of contracts, progress and schedule, technology, system design, grid-connection aspects, project management and support, technical acceptance, performance evaluation, and operation and maintenance contract.

Owner’s engineers generally work as representatives of the project developers for a construction or engineering project. They help protect the owner’s interests by ensuring that the technical and building contractors adhere to the project specification and the project is implemented smoothly.

The last date to submit the bids is July 5, 2021, and the bids will be opened on the same day. The pre-bid meeting will be held on July 1.

Interested bidders do not have to pay earnest money deposits to participate in the bidding process. After the completion of the awarded work, the successful bidder will have to furnish an amount of 3% of the work order as the performance bank guarantee.

To participate in the bidding process, the bidder should have experience in providing owner’s engineering services for one grid-connected solar project with a minimum capacity of 60 MW at one location or two solar projects with a capacity of 37.5 MW at each location. These projects should have been in successful operation for at least six months before the bid opening date.

Additionally, the bidder should have experience of providing owner’s engineering services for an electrical substation of above 66 kV voltage level, consisting of equipment such as circuit breakers and power transformers, which should have been in successful operation for at least six months before the bid opening date.

The owner’s engineer will have to visit the project location within 30 days from the issuance of the letter of award and submit the reports.

The bidding document mentions that if a successful bidder fails to complete the assignment within the stipulated period, a maximum of one week will be provided to finish the task subject to acceptance of RECPDCL. After that, a penalty of 0.1% of contract value per day will be levied on the agency up to a maximum penalty of 10%. If the work is further delayed, the bidder’s performance security will be confiscated and the contract will be terminated.

In case of continued non‐satisfactory performance, RECPDCL has the right to withdraw the work and get it completed at the risk and cost of the agency. Further, the agency may be blacklisted for one year or more for participating in any of the bids invited by RECPDCL.

In January this year, RECPDCL invited bids from empanelled owner’s engineers to provide project cost estimation and financial analysis services to participate in the bidding process for interstate transmission system-connected solar projects in Karnataka.

Earlier, RECPDCL had invited bids for the empanelment of an owner’s engineer for solar projects across India. The tender included ground-mounted, rooftop solar, floating solar, hybrid, and storage projects.

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