West Bengal Power Department has invited bids to develop and commission 900 MW pumped storage projects on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis on the Bandu reservoir in Purulia, West Bengal.

The project will be divided into four capacities of 225 MW each. The total project cost is estimated to be ₹47 billion (~$573.6 million).

The last day to submit the bids is August 28, 2023.

Bidders must furnish a bid security of ₹500 million (~$6.1 million).

Selected bidders must pay ₹250,000 (~$3,051)/ MW towards an upfront premium for securing allotment of the project within thirty days from issuing the letter of award. They must also remit performance security of ₹500 million (~$6.1 million).

Bidders should have previously paid for or received payments for the construction of projects undertaken on build-operate-transfer, build-own-lease-transfer, build-own-operate, build-own-operate-transfer, or similar basis, providing output or services to a public sector entity.

They should hold a minimum of 26% equity in the company owning the eligible project during the entire year for which experience is claimed. The project’s capital cost should be more than ₹4.5 billion (~$54.9 million). They should have paid for the project’s development (excluding land cost) and collected revenues from users or electricity sales over the last five financial years.

Bidders who have met the above criteria and received payments of more than ₹45 billion (~$549.2 million) provided that at least one-fourth of the threshold technical capacity should be from projects where the bidder paid for construction works or received payments during the last five financial years.

Only payments made or received during those five years will be considered for computing the experience score. Payments below ₹1 billion (~$12.2 million) will not be counted. Construction works do not include the supply of goods or equipment unless part of the project’s turn-key construction contract/ EPC contract.

As of the last financial year, the bidder should have a minimum net worth of ₹11.25 billion (~$137.3 million).

In the case of a consortium, the combined technical capacity and net worth of members who hold at least 26% equity share in the special purpose vehicle must meet the eligibility criteria. Each member should maintain a minimum equity share of 26% of the subscribed and paid-up equity and 5% of the total project cost for two years from the project’s commercial operation. The financial capacity of the bidder will be determined based on their standalone financial statements or the financial statements of consortium members and associates.

Bidders either must enter into an agreement to entrust their operation & maintenance  obligations to an entity with the requisite experience or undertake the O&M through qualified and experienced staff.

The Ministry of Power proposed supporting pumped hydro storage projects through concessional climate finance. Sovereign green bonds issued for mobilizing resources for green infrastructure may be deployed in developing these projects, which utilize renewable energy for charging.

The ministry had also issued an order waiving the inter-state transmission system charges on evacuating electricity from new hydropower projects in the country.