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POWERGRID Seeks Partner for NVVN’s 250 MW/500 MWh Standalone BESS Project in Kerala

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) has invited bids to identify a pre-bid partner for the development of a 250 MW/500 MWh standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) in Kerala. The bid submission deadline is December 19, 2025, with bids scheduled to be opened on the same day.

The tender is being issued as a pre-bid tie-up, and the award will be subject to POWERGRID securing the upstream contract floated by NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN).

The proposed BESS facility will be installed at the 220 kV Brahmapuram substation in Kochi and connected at the 220 kV level under the jurisdiction of the Kerala State Electricity Board. The selected partner will be required to complete the project within a period of 15 months and undertake comprehensive operations and maintenance for 16 years.

The scope of work includes the design, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of the battery energy storage system, along with the power conversion system (PCS) and associated PCS transformers.

The BESS must be configured for two hours of operation with single-cycle charging and discharging. However, the design should also permit limited dual-cycle daily operation, capped at a maximum of 400 cycles per year on an on-demand basis.

POWERGRID has outlined two qualification pathways for bidders. Under the first route, eligible bidders may include prime contractors who have supplied, erected, tested, and commissioned BESS projects with a cumulative capacity of at least 10 MWh within the past seven years and operational as of December 19, 2025. Alternatively, bidders may qualify if they have executed at least one solar or wind project of 50 MW or more, completed and operational within the same period. Prime contractors who have commissioned at least two AIS circuit breaker-equipped bays of 132 kV or higher at a single substation or switchyard within the last seven years are also eligible.

Under the second qualification route, battery manufacturers who have supplied a minimum of 50 MWh of batteries for stationary grid applications over the past three years may participate. These bidders must have maintained a positive net worth during the last three financial years.

In addition, bidders are required to demonstrate an average annual turnover of at least Rs6.08 billion over the previous five financial years, along with liquid assets or access to credit facilities amounting to at least Rs1.01 billion. Startups and micro and small enterprises (MSEs) meeting at least 80 percent of the stipulated financial thresholds for turnover and liquidity will also be eligible to bid.

In a related development, POWERGRID had invited bids in November 2025 to select consortium partners for setting up 1,000 MW/2,000 MWh of standalone BESS capacity across seven substations in Andhra Pradesh.