Ministry of Power Initiates Bidding Process for Inter-State Transmission System under NERES-XVI Scheme

The Ministry of Power has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) document for the selection of a bidder as a Transmission Service Provider for the establishment of an Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) under the North Eastern Region Expansion Scheme-XVI (NERES-XVI). The bidding process will be conducted through Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) and the selected bidder will be responsible for building, owning, operating, and transferring the ISTS.

The tender notice, which was issued on March 29, 2023, by REC Power Development and Consultancy Limited (RECPDCL), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Power, allowed bidders to seek clarification until April 18, 2023. The latest document released by the ministry provides details on the ‘transmission service agreement’ and includes information related to the construction, development, connection, commissioning, insurance, billing, and payment of transmission charges, among others.

Interested parties can obtain the RFP documents on all working days between 10:30 am to 4 pm, one day before the bid submission, by paying a non-refundable fee of Rs 5 lakh. The RFP can also be downloaded from the website of RECPDCL, but for submission of responses, Rs 5 lakh has to be submitted. The last date to submit the bids is May 31, 2023.

The objective of the ISTS project is to strengthen the transmission network in the North-Eastern Region, including the establishment of new transmission lines, extension/upgradation of existing substations, augmentation of transformation capacity, and reconductoring of transmission lines.

The RECPDCL has mandated that the bidding process will only be conducted online, and the selected bidder will be chosen through a competitive bidding process. The selected bidder will be responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the ISTS under the BOOT basis.