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MSETCL Seeks EPC Partners for 2 GW/4 GWh Battery Energy Storage Projects

The state transmission utility aims to participate in MSEDCL’s upcoming BESS tender

The Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MSETCL) has issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) to empanel engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) partners for developing 2,000 MW/4,000 MWh battery energy storage systems (BESS) across the state.

Bidders are required to submit an earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 25,000 (~$285) and a performance guarantee equal to 10 Percent of the total contract value. In addition, the selected bidder must provide an annual maintenance bank guarantee equivalent to 4 Percent of the contract value, valid for five years and renewable every five years.

This move follows MSEDCL’s July 2025 tender to select developers for 2 GW/4 GWh BESS projects. MSETCL plans to participate in that tender as a bidder and, therefore, seeks to empanel EPC contractors, technology providers, and system integrators through this EoI. The bidding capacity will be disclosed to the empanelled partners prior to submission of commercial bids.

To ensure fair competition, empanelled EPC developers are barred from bidding independently or through consortiums in the MSEDCL tender.

Scope of Work

The selected EPC partners will handle the design, engineering, construction, and commissioning of the BESS projects, including:

• Integration of power conversion systems (inverters), energy management, and battery management systems.

• Ensuring grid and cybersecurity compliance and meeting all metering and telemetry requirements for the state load dispatch centers and MSEDCL.

• Establishing a battery augmentation and replacement protocol.

Projects must support one full charge/discharge cycle per day and be completed within 15 months of the Letter of Award (LoA). Failure to meet the deadline will incur liquidated damages of 0.5 Percent per week, capped at 5 Percent of the contract value.

The selected EPCs must also provide 12 years of comprehensive O&M services, ensuring an annual system availability of at least 95 Percent. Any shortfall below this level will attract a penalty of 0.25 Percent of annual O&M payment per 1 Percent deficiency.

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify, bidders must meet one of the following experience criteria:

• Battery Manufacturing/Supply: Supplied or installed 20 MWh of BESS capacity, including at least one 5 MWh project commissioned six months prior to the bid opening.

• EHV Substations: Executed two extra-high-voltage substations (minimum 220 kV) under EPC or turnkey contracts, each with at least four bays, two interconnecting transformer bays, and two EHV bays, operational for at least one year before bid submission.

In addition, bidders must have a manufacturing or licensing agreement with a battery manufacturer capable of supplying a 20 MWh BESS project.

Financially, bidders should maintain a minimum annual turnover of Rs 2 billion (~$22.7 million) and a positive net worth over the last three financial years.

Policy Context

To accelerate large-scale storage deployment, India’s Ministry of Power has authorized states to implement standalone BESS projects under the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) program, supported by the Power System Development Fund, in both two-hour and four-hour configurations.