Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) feeder level solarisation programme, the Kerala State Electricity Board Limited (KSEBL) has invited bids for the appointment of engineering, procurement, and construction contractors to develop 11 MW of ground-mounted, grid-connected solar power projects at various locations in Kerala. The total project cost is approximately Rs 500 million.
The scope of work comprises the design, installation, erection, and commissioning of solar projects with a total capacity of 11 MW across 21 locations on KSEBL-owned land totalling 194,018 square metres. Furthermore, the contractors are expected to complete the project within 12 months from the date of handing over the site. The contractors will also be responsible for the operations and maintenance of the project for the first five years following the commissioning. The bid submission deadline is May 26, 2022.
According to the reports, to be eligible for the bidding process, in the last five years, bidders must have successfully installed grid-connected solar power plants of a minimum 2 MW aggregate capacity. Of this, at least one project with a capacity of 1 MW or greater must have been operational for at least six months as of the tender’s issue date. Within 15 days of receiving the Letter of Award of work, the winning bidders must pay a performance bank guarantee equal to 3 per cent of the total contract value.
In March 2022, under the PM KUSUM programme, KSEBL issued a request for selection for grid-connected solar projects with a total capacity of 34.5 MW near KSEBL substations. The scope of work comprised setting up grid-connected solar projects on uncultivable agricultural land, pasturelands, and marshlands of farmers falling within a radius of 5 km from KSEBL’s substations. The bid submission deadline is May 15, 2022.
