The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has invited bids to procure 1,300 MW solar power from projects to be connected at distribution network (11/22 kV) in 29 districts in Maharashtra. The projects will be developed under the ‘Mukhyamantri Saur Krishi Vahini Yojana.’

The last date to submit the bids is May 17, 2021. The pre-bid meeting will take place on April 30, 2021.

MSEDCL has set a ceiling tariff of ₹3.05 (~$0.041)/kWh for these projects.

In January last year, MSEDCL had reissued a tender for 1,350 MW of solar projects to be developed across 30 districts. The ceiling tariff was raised to ₹3.30 (~$0.04)/kWh from ₹3.15 ($0.044) /kWh.

Originally floated in September 2019, these tenders were put on hold because of the 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections as developers wanted to wait for the policy commitment of the new government.

Bidders will have to submit an amount of ₹100,000 (~$1,332)/MW as the earnest money deposit. The successful bidder will have to submit a performance bank guarantee of ₹500,000 (~$6,663)/MW within 30 days from the issuance of the letter of award.

MSEDCL will enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the bidders selected to purchase solar power for 25 years from the commercial operation date.

The solar power generator will be responsible for the design, finance, procurement of land, engineering, procurement, construction, operation, and maintenance of the projects under and per the PPA provisions to be entered into between the solar power generator and MSEDCL.

Through the tender, the selection of grid-connected solar projects for a total capacity of 50 MW will be carried out through the e-reverse auction process.

As per the tender document, the minimum individual project capacity to be developed per district will be 2 MW, and the maximum individual project capacity will be 10 MW. The district-wise cumulative capacity to be installed is 50 MW/25 MW. However, the selection of bidders beyond the aggregate bid capacity up to a maximum of 100 MW per district may be carried out depending on the tariff discovered in the bidding process.

Foreign companies can participate in this tender. They should be registered as companies as per the rules of their country of origin.

The bidder’s net worth as of the last financial year should not be less than ₹5.5 million (~$73,297)/MW of the quoted capacity. The bidder’s minimum annual turnover should be ₹2.5 million (~$33,316)/MW of the quoted capacity during the last financial year. In the form of profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes, the internal resource generation capability should be at least ₹1 million (~$13,326)/MW of the quoted capacity as of the last date of the previous financial year.

The bidder should have the approval letter from the lending institution committing a line of credit for a minimum amount of ₹1.25 million (~$16,658)/MW of the quoted capacity toward meeting the working capital requirement of the project.

The transmission of power up to the interconnection point and energy accounting infrastructure would be the successful bidder’s responsibility.

The declared capacity utilization factor should not be less than 19% over a year.

In December last year, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) had issued an order allowing MSEDCL to float tenders for its solar projects under the Mukhyamantri Saur Krishi Vahini Yojana program adopting a continuous bidding process.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, MSEDCL has floated 11.5 GW of solar tenders as of March 2021.