Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has issued a Request for Selection (RfS) for setting up Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) with a total capacity of 2,000 MW/4,000 MWh. The projects will be awarded under a tariff-based global competitive bidding process and are intended to cater to “on-demand” energy requirements. The entire capacity is to be set up under the Build-Own-Operate (BOO) model.
The bidding process will follow a single-stage, two-envelope system through the e-tendering mode. Interested bidders can access the bidding documents from the ISN-ETS portal or the MSEDCL website. The deadline for raising queries about the RfS is 11th August 2025 by 17:00 hrs.
The document processing fee is ₹15 lakh plus 18% GST for the total project capacity quoted by each bidder. Additionally, bidders must pay ₹29,500 (including GST) as the non-refundable cost of the RfS document. The Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) required is ₹4,20,000 per MW, which must be submitted as a bank guarantee. Selected developers will be required to submit a Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) of ₹10,50,000 per MW. Alternatively, a Payment on Order Instrument (POI) can be submitted in place of the PBG.
The projects will be installed at multiple locations, connected either to MSEDCL or MSETCL substations. Land for the projects will be provided by MSEDCL on a Right-of-Use basis at a nominal lease of ₹1 per plot per year. For co-located projects, where the BESS is installed with an existing renewable energy project under PPA with MSEDCL, the responsibility of arranging land lies with the bidder.
Each BESS must be capable of delivering 2 full charge-discharge cycles per day with a 2-hour discharge capacity. The minimum bid size allowed is 100 MW/200 MWh. Developers are required to ensure system availability of at least 95% annually. Liquidated damages will be applicable for underperformance or failure to meet round-trip efficiency (RtE) targets, which are 85% for general systems and 90% for co-located systems.
Developers are also eligible for Viability Gap Funding (VGF) of up to ₹18 lakh per MWh as per the Ministry of Power’s scheme dated 9th June 2025. VGF will be disbursed in three stages—20% at financial closure, 50% at commercial operation date, and 30% after the first year of operation, subject to submission of a bank guarantee equivalent to the VGF.
The scheduled commissioning date is set at 18 months from the effective date of the BESPA. Delays beyond this will attract liquidated damages, and failure to commission the project within the extended timeline may result in forfeiture of the entire PBG and cancellation of the uncommissioned capacity.
