UPPCL Issues 375 MW / 1500 MWh BESS Tender With VGF Support

Uttar Pradesh has issued its latest Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) tenders under VGF Tranche 2. Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), through its large-scale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) tender for 375 MW / 1500 MWh, offers a minimum bid size of 250 MWh, i.e., 62.50 MW x 4 hours. Developers are expected to arrange charging power for the BESS project from renewable energy sources and design the BESS project to provide a maximum of 4 hours of discharging capacity.

The project under this tender is supported by the Power System Development Fund (PSDF) Viability Gap Funding (VGF). Bidders for this project are expected to submit their bids by October 13, 2025, with bids scheduled to be opened on October 16.

The latest tender enables the allocation of over 50% of the capacity under VGF Tranche 2. With this, around 15.5 GWh of capacity under the VGF scheme now stands tendered. States such as Rajasthan and Gujarat, along with Maharashtra, have already come out with cumulative bids of 4 GWh, Andhra Pradesh (AP) with 2 GWh, and now Uttar Pradesh (UP) with 1.5 GWh. The states yet to issue tenders under the allotted capacity include Karnataka (2 GWh), Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu (1.5 GWh each), as well as Haryana, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Uttarakhand (500 MWh each).

Scope of Work

The  Battery Energy Discharge Purchase Agreement (BEDPA), as per the tender, would be valid for a 15-year period from the date of full commissioning of the Project. Moreover, it added that any extension of the BEDPA period beyond the term of the BEDPA would be undertaken through mutual agreement between the BESSD and the Buying Entity. This would be applicable considering that the arrangements with the relevant transmission utilities and system operators permit operation of the Project beyond the initial 15 years period.

The UPPCL tender requires the Battery Energy Storage System Developer (BESSD) to set up a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project that provides stored energy to the Buying Entity on an “on-demand” basis. The tender clarified that charging power would be arranged by the BESSD on its own. 

The tender allows the developer to set up the project anywhere in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Land identification for the project will also be under the scope of the BESSD. Moreover, the Interconnection Point / Delivery Point for Battery Energy Storage Projects with a total capacity of 1,500 MWh will be set up at the nearest UPPTCL substation.

Project Performance Parameters

UPPCL set the power rating of a 1500 MWh (375 MW x 4 hrs) BESS at 375 MW, i.e., the maximum value of the active output at the Delivery Point. It further clarified that the BESS should be designed to provide a maximum of 4 hours of discharging capacity. However, the Buying Entity, at its sole discretion, can schedule the discharging of the BESS in one or two sessions each day, except during the charging window provided to the BESSD to charge the BESS, i.e., from 11:00 hrs to 17:00 hrs.

Under UPPCL’s latest BESS tender, the Capital State Subsidy under the Uttar Pradesh Solar Energy Policy-2022 is not applicable. Additionally, bidders cannot avail themselves of the state capital subsidy under this tender, and if any subsidy is claimed and obtained by a successful bidder, it must be compulsorily returned to the Government of Uttar Pradesh.