The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a tender for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of 1 MW grid-connected rooftop solar projects at Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The O&M agreement will be for five years from the date of notification of award.

The last date for the submission of bids is August 23, 2021. Interested bidder does not have to pay any earnest money deposit to participate in the bidding process.

The scope of work includes day-to-day operations of 1 MW of rooftop solar systems installed at 13 government offices in Port Blair. Successful bidder also has to carry out necessary routine, breakdown, and preventive maintenance.

The maintenance service provided must ensure the functioning of the rooftop solar system as a whole and power evacuation system to the extent covered in the Contract. All preventive and routine maintenance and the breakdown and corrective maintenance required for ensuring maximum uptime have to be provided.  Daily work of the operators will involve cleaning of modules, logging the voltage, current, power factor, capacity utilization factor, power, and energy output of the rooftop solar system. Modules that are suspected of underperformance must be inspected using infrared thermography.

To participate in the bidding process, bidders must have provided O&M services for at least one year for grid-connected rooftop solar projects – one project of 800 kW, or two of 500 kW, or three of 400 kW.

Limited liability partnerships, proprietorship and partnerships, NGOs, charitable trusts, and educational societies are also allowed to participate in the bidding process. The Bid processing fees are exempted for registered MSME bidders.

As per the tender document, the bidder’s average financial turnover should be at least ₹306,500 (~$4,110) during the last three financial years, and the bidder’s net worth should be positive for the last financial year.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, SECI has issued tenders for over 623.8 MW of rooftop solar systems as of March 31, 2021.

Recently, the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) announced the energy and fixed charges for rooftop and ground-mounted solar in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for the financial year 2021-22. There is a 59% reduction in energy charges for residential rooftop solar with the power consumption range of 100- 200 kWh, as the consumer has to pay only ₹2.05 (~$0.03)/kWh compared to ₹5 (~$0.07)/kWh in the same category without solar.

Harsh Shukla is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.

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