Punjab Govt Releases Tender For 500 MW of Standalone BESS

Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) has now issued a tender to set up 500 megawatts (MW) / 1,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) in the northern state of Punjab, according to tender documents.

The procurement will be carried out under a tariff-based competitive bidding mechanism. Under the tender, the selected battery energy storage system developer (BESSD) will be required to build and operate the storage facilities and make them available to the buying entity, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), for charging and discharging on an on-demand basis.

Scope of Work 

The scope of work includes the construction of the BESS and its interconnection with the state transmission utility network at two 220-kilovolt substations, including the development of new bays. The developer will bear the entire cost of infrastructure, from the project site up to and including the interconnection point.

This includes the cost of transmission lines, bay construction at PSPCL and PSTCL substations on a deposit-work basis, bus-bar extension or augmentation, protection relay upgrades, installation of protection and control panels, and all associated works up to the delivery point, the documents showed.

The tender is technology-agnostic, allowing bidders to deploy any battery storage technology that meets the definition of BESS and complies with the performance requirements set out in the request for selection (RfS) and the battery energy storage purchase agreement (BESPA).

Revision of Locations 

The proposed capacity includes 250 MW/500 MWh installations each at the 220 kV Ablowal substation in Patiala and the 220 kV Laltonkalan substation in Ludhiana, although PSPCL said the locations and capacities could be revised.

Under the tender conditions, PSPCL will control the charging and discharging schedules. The systems will be charged by drawing power from the PSPCL/PSTCL network and discharged into the grid in line with dispatch instructions issued by the Punjab State Load Despatch Centre, in consultation with PSPCL.

The tender also requires that the energy management system (EMS) software for the BESS be developed within India. The use of refurbished or second-hand battery cells is prohibited, and developers must submit a formal undertaking to that effect.

Developers will also be responsible for creating approach roads, balance-of-plant infrastructure and auxiliary facilities, while ensuring that construction and operations do not disrupt existing grid substation activities.