The Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), a Navratna Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), has invited bids for the short-term utilization of a 100 MWh standalone Energy Storage System (ESS). The tender covers a 50 MW/100 MWh system with two hours of storage capacity and is aimed at supporting grid operations as renewable energy generation continues to increase.
Under the Request for Selection (RfS) issued on August 28, 2026, SECI will select an Energy Storage System Developer (ESSD) to provide the required storage capacity on an “on-demand” basis. The procurement will follow a tariff-based competitive bidding process with a single-stage, two-envelope structure, followed by an electronic Reverse Auction (e-RA).
The selected developer will enter into an Energy Storage Purchase Agreement (ESPA) with SECI for a one-year period from November 1, 2026, to October 31, 2027. Participation in the tender is restricted to operational energy storage projects that have already been commissioned, interconnected with the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS), and have declared their Commercial Operation Date (COD) on or before the bid submission deadline.
SECI has fixed a document fee of INR 50,000 plus applicable GST and a bid processing fee of INR 10 lakh plus GST. Both payments are required through NEFT or RTGS. Bidders must also submit an Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) of INR 2.40 crore through a Bank Guarantee or Insurance Surety Bond. The EMD must remain valid for six months from the bid submission deadline.
The successful bidder will be required to furnish a Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) of INR 6 crore within 10 days of receiving the Letter of Award (LoA).
Under the operating framework, SECI will have full rights to schedule charging and discharging of the ESS. The system may be operated for one to two cycles per day, with a maximum of 485 operational cycles during the contract period. The developer must maintain at least 95% annual system availability and a minimum monthly AC-to-AC Round-Trip Efficiency (RtE) of 85%.
The tender includes financial penalties for underperformance. If the availability requirement is not met, liquidated damages will be calculated at twice the monthly capacity charges for the unavailable capacity. If monthly RtE falls below 85%, liquidated damages of INR 3.50 per kWh will apply to excess conversion losses. For RtE below 70%, SECI will withhold the entire monthly tariff payment in addition to applicable penalties.
Bids will be evaluated based on a single monthly capacity charge quoted in INR/MW/month. The agreement will become effective 20 days after the LoA or on October 31, 2026, whichever is earlier, allowing the selected ESSD to provide storage services from November 1, 2026.
The initiative is expected to strengthen peak demand management, enable energy shifting, address grid balancing requirements, and improve system flexibility as India integrates increasing volumes of renewable energy into the power grid.
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