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POWERGRID Seeks Pre-Bid Tie-Up Partner for 125 MW/500 MWh BESS Projects in Odisha

Bids due February 16, 2026; projects to be implemented under BOO model with viability gap funding support

Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID) has invited bids to select a pre-bid tie-up partner for six standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in Odisha with a cumulative capacity of 125 MW/500 MWh. The tender is contingent upon POWERGRID winning the upstream tender floated by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

The projects comprise five BESS units of 20 MW/80 MWh each and one unit of 25 MW/100 MWh. The facilities will be located within identified state transmission utility substations at Padampur, New Bolangir, Bhatli, Basta, Narendrapur, and Tentuli Khunti.

The last date to submit bids is February 16, 2026, with bids scheduled to be opened on the same day. For the 20 MW/80 MWh BESS at Basta, the submission deadline is February 18, 2026. Bidders must pay a tender fee of Rs25,000 (~$275.90) for each project.

The projects will be developed under a build-own-operate (BOO) model and must be completed within 15 months. They will receive viability gap funding capped at Rs1.8 million (~$19,800)/MWh of the awarded project capacity for each bidder. The scope includes development, ownership, and operation, with an operations and maintenance period of up to 15 years from the scheduled commissioning date.

The BESS installations must interconnect with the state transmission utility network and guarantee a minimum annual system availability of 95%. They must support at least one operational cycle per day, up to a maximum of two cycles, and ensure a minimum monthly AC-to-AC round-trip efficiency of 85%.