Through recent independent orders, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has adopted transmission tariffs of four interstate transmission system (ISTS) schemes awarded under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) route.
The broad details of the four schemes are as follows:
Project SPV: Fatehgarh III Beawar Transmission Ltd
Selected bidder: Sterlite Power
Annual levlized Tariff: Rs.1,357.57 million
Date of SPV transfer: August 1, 2023
Name of Project: “Transmission system for evacuation of power from REZ in Rajasthan (20 GW) under Phase III- Part G”
Completion period (COD): 18 months from SPV transfer
Revision in bid*: -8.8 per cent
Rank at initial bidding*: L1
Project SPV: Beawar Transmission Ltd
Selected bidder: Sterlite Power
Annual levelized tariff: Rs.2,749.39 million
Date of SPV transfer: September 20, 2023
Name of Project: “Transmission system for evacuation of power from REZ in Rajasthan (20 GW) under Phase III-Part F”
Completion period (COD): 18 months from SPV transfer
Revision in bid*: -7.93 per cent
Rank at initial bidding: L1
Project SPV: Ananthpuram Kurnool Transmission Ltd
Selected bidder: Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd
Annual levelized tariff: Rs. 1,288.88 million
Date of SPV transfer: September 27, 2023
Name of Project: “Transmission Scheme for solar energy zone in Ananthpuram (Ananthapur) (2,500 MW) and Kurnool (1,000 MW), Andhra Pradesh”
Completion period (COD): 24 months from SPV transfer
Revision in bid*: -5.31 per cent
Rank at initial bidding*: L2
Project SPV: Bhadla III Transmission Ltd
Selected bidder: Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd
Annual levelized tariff: Rs.2,124.08 million
Date of SPV transfer: September 27, 2023
Name of Project: “Transmission system for evacuation of power from REZ in Rajasthan (20GW) under Phase-III Part B1”
Completion period (COD): 18 months from SPV transfer
Revision in bid*: -7.70 per cent
Rank at initial bidding*: L1
(*Read notes at the end of the story)
Bidding process: Some observations
In three of the four schemes discussed above, the final winner (L1 after e-reverse auction or e-RA) was also L1 at the time of opening of initial price bids (before the e-RA). The exception was “Ananthpuram Kurnool Transmission Ltd” where the final winner PGCIL was L2 at the time of opening of initial bids. Incidentally, in this scheme, Tata Power was L1 at the initial bidding stage. Further, it is also learnt that Tata Power did not participate in the e-RA.
For both the projects that Sterlite Power won, the developer lowered its initial bid by an average of 8 per cent. Same was the case with “Bhadla III Transmission Ltd” where PGCIL lowered its bid by 7.7 per cent. For the “Ananthpuram Kurnool Transmission Ltd” project, PGCIL reduced its bid by just 5.31 per cent to emerge as the final winner. This relatively small reduction in price bid is explained by the fact that Tata Power (L1 in the initial price bid stage) did not participate in the e-RA.
The difference between L1 and L2 bids at the time of opening of initial bids ranged from 0.70 per (seen in Fatehgarh III Beawar) to 5.20 per cent (in Bhadla III Transmission).
Notes:
- “Revision in bid” refers to the percentage difference in initial price bid and that after the e-reverse auction, both pertaining to bids of the final winner.
- “Rank at initial bidding” is the position held by the final winner at the time of opening of initial price bids, which is before the e-RA.
Also read: CERC Adopts Tariff For “Bhadla III” Transmission Scheme
Featured photograph (source: Sterlite Power) is for representation only.
