New Empanelment Tender for 25 MW Rooftop Solar Projects in Jharkhand

Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL), the largest electricity distribution company of Jharkhand State, has issued a new tender, inviting e-bids from eligible agencies to get empaneled to supply, install, and commission 25 MW of residential rooftop solar power projects under the MNRE Phase-II Scheme. These solar projects will be developed under the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model, in which the developer owns the project and the consumer only pays for the power generated.   

Interested bidders may submit their bids by using the state procurement portal, the deadline for which is May 12, 2021. Bids will be opened on May 13, 2021. The pre-bid meeting is scheduled for April 22, 2021, at 12:30 pm. The deadline for the receipt of bid documents (online) is May 12, 2021, till 3 pm and for that of physical submission of tender fee and EMD is May 13, 2021, till 3 pm.

As part of the project, power will be procured by JBVNL on a long-term basis by gross metering through a tariff-based competitive bidding process. The upper ceiling tariff for this bid is Rs 4.16/kWh, which the state electricity regulator had determined to be the generic tariff for those consumers of JBVNL who want to supply electricity to their utility under the gross metering program.

Bidders are required to submit an amount of Rs 200,000/MW for the bid capacity as the earnest money deposit. The bids for developing solar power projects have been invited in two categories:

The proposed capacities will be developed at premises of domestic consumers connected with feeders within the catchment area of JBVNL. The contracted capacity utilisation factor (CUF) should be a minimum of 15%. The bidder should have commissioned grid-connected rooftop solar projects with an aggregate capacity of 50% of the developer’s bid capacity under the net metering or gross metering arrangement. Minimum average turnover of the bidder for the last three financial years should be ₹15 million/MW. For Jharkhand’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), minimum average annual turnover for the last three financial years must be Rs 5 million/MW. For startups, minimum average annual turnover for the last three financial years should be Rs 2.5 million/MW. 

The minimum net worth for the general bidder based on the last three financial years should be Rs 10 million/MW. For MSMEs, the net worth should be Rs 5 million/MW, and for startups, the net worth should be positive. Rooftop solar installations up to 3 kW will be eligible to get a subsidy of 40%. Installations from 3 kW to 10 kW will qualify for a subsidy of 40% for the first 3 kW and 20% for the remaining capacity. In the case of group housing societies and residential welfare associations, the central financial assistance (CFA) will be limited to 20% for common facilities up to 500 kW.