Bijapur REZ Transmission Limited filed a petition with the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) seeking approval for the adoption of transmission charges discovered through competitive bidding. The project in question involves the development of the Transmission Scheme for integration of the Bijapur Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) in Karnataka on a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis. The request was made under Section 63 read with Section 79 of the Electricity Act, 2003.
The petitioner requested the Commission to approve an annual transmission charge of ₹1,077 million, discovered through a transparent tariff-based competitive bidding process. The scope of the project includes the construction of a 400/220 kV pooling station near Bijapur, a 400 kV double-circuit transmission line between Bijapur and Raichur, and two 125 MVAr bus reactors. The scheduled date of commissioning for all these components is within 24 months from the transfer of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which was completed on January 16, 2025.
The bid process was managed by PFC Consulting Limited (PFCCL), which acted as the Bid Process Coordinator (BPC). PFCCL invited bids through a Request for Proposal (RfP) issued on June 1, 2024, and nine companies submitted their bids. Among these, G R Infraprojects Limited emerged as the lowest bidder with an annual transmission charge of ₹1,077 million. Though five companies qualified for the e-reverse auction stage, none participated further, leading to the acceptance of the initial offer by G R Infraprojects Limited.
Following the bidding, the Letter of Intent was issued on December 12, 2024. Subsequently, the successful bidder completed all necessary formalities, including furnishing a performance guarantee of ₹30 crores and acquiring 100% equity in the SPV. The company then filed the petition for transmission licence and tariff adoption with the CERC on January 21, 2025.
The Commission reviewed the bidding documents, the bid evaluation committee’s report, and the process followed by PFCCL. The Bid Evaluation Committee confirmed that the entire process was conducted transparently following the Ministry of Power’s guidelines. It also certified that the final quoted tariff by G R Infraprojects Limited was about 19.24% lower than the levelized tariff estimated by the Central Electricity Authority based on CERC norms, which amounted to ₹1,333.55 million per annum.
Considering the certification from the Bid Evaluation Committee and the procedures followed during the bidding process, the Commission approved the annual transmission charges of ₹1,077 million, subject to the grant of a transmission licence to the petitioner. The charges will be shared among designated inter-state transmission system customers as per the applicable regulations.
With this approval, the petition has been concluded, and the Commission has directed that a copy of the order be sent to the Central Transmission Utility of India Limited, the nodal agency overseeing the project.
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