Bid process coordinator PFC Consulting Ltd (PFCCL) has shortlisted bidders for four interstate transmission system (ISTS) schemes being awarded under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) route.
All the four schemes are associated with renewable energy evacuation from upcoming solar zones in Bikaner region of Rajasthan.
Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), Sterlite Power and Adani Energy Solutions Ltd have qualified for all the four schemes, while Tata Power has qualified for three. (See table).
These bidders have qualified for opening of the initial bids, following PFCCL’s opening of the RfP (technical bids). The selection process will move to evaluation of final price bids submitted by the bidders, which might involve the e-reverse auction routine.
All the projects are components of an overarching scheme officially termed as “Transmission system for evacuation of power from Rajasthan REZ Ph-IV (Part-1) (Bikaner Complex)”.
Project Rationale
Total renewable potential of 75 GW (solar: 60 GW and wind: 15 GW) has been identified in Rajasthan. As part of the comprehensive evacuation scheme for Rajasthan, several evacuation projects have been identified in the Bikaner region, which incidentally is out of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) area thereby attracting several renewable energy developers.
At the Bikaner Complex (comprising Bikaner II Pooling Station and Bikaner III Pooling Station), there is a requirement of additional evacuation systems for 7.7 GW of solar energy, which will be addressed by the subject scheme termed as “Transmission system for evacuation of power from Rajasthan REZ Ph-IV (Part-1) (Bikaner Complex).”
The 7.7 GW of evacuation will be spread over Bikaner II (3.7 GW) and Bikaner III (4 GW). At Bikaner III, solar capacity of 7 GW coupled with 3 GW of BESS (battery energy storage system) has been envisaged.
As the project cost of the scheme was very high, estimated at over Rs.13,400 crore, it was decided to fragment the overall project into five parts. The first four parts (Part A to Part D), discussed in this story, are being implemented on TBCB basis whereas Part E will be implemented by PGCIL in regulated tariff mechanism (RTM) mode.
Bidder profile
PGCIL, Sterlite Power and Adani Energy Solutions are seasoned players in the ISTS-TBCB space. Tata Power has yet to win a greenfield ISTS project under the TBCB route but it indirectly owns some interstate and intrastate transmission assets that were acquired by Resurgent Power, in which Tata Power is a shareholder. It may be mentioned that in the first nine months of 2023, according to a study by T&D India, PGCIL won 11 of the 18 interstate transmission schemes awarded under the TBCB route.
Also read: PFCCL Incorporates Project SPV For ISTS Scheme In Gujarat
Featured photograph is for representation only.
