APPCC Invites Bids for 1,250 MW/5,000 MWh Standalone BESS Across Three Andhra Pradesh Sites

The Andhra Pradesh Power Coordination Committee (APPCC), acting for and on behalf of the state’s three distribution companies – APCPDCL, APEPDCL and APSPDCL – has issued a Request for Selection (RfS) to select developers for 1,250 MW/5,000 MWh of standalone Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). The tender (No. APPCC/BESS-02/2026-27; Tender Search No. APCPDCL-2026-TN000004), dated 7 October 2026, covers four-hour storage for “on-demand” use by the DISCOMs under tariff-based competitive bidding, with projects to be built on a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) model.

Project Configuration

The capacity is split into three projects. Each will be bid, evaluated and awarded separately, with tariffs discovered independently through a project-wise e-reverse auction.

A green-shoe option allows APPCC to award up to 25% additional capacity per project at the L1 tariff – up to 125 MW/500 MWh each for Projects 1 and 3, and 50 MW/200 MWh for Project 2 – subject to land availability, connectivity, resource adequacy and energy storage obligation requirements, and approval of the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC). Each bidder group may submit only one bid covering all the projects it seeks, and total allocation to a group is capped at 5,000 MWh, excluding green-shoe capacity.

Bid Schedule and Financial Instruments

Bidding documents were made available on the ISN-ETS portal from 7 October 2026. The pre-bid meeting and the last date for queries are both on 22 October 2026. Online bids are due by 17:00 hours on 23 November 2026, with hard copies of the techno-commercial bid to follow within two working days, and technical bids will be opened on 24 November 2026. The e-reverse auction date will be communicated later to eligible bidders.

The non-refundable document fee is ₹3 lakh plus 18% GST. Bidders must furnish an Earnest Money Deposit of ₹5 lakh per MW, valid for nine months, as a demand draft, bank guarantee, Payment on Order Instrument from IREDA, PFC or REC, or an insurance surety bond. Successful bidders must submit a Performance Bank Guarantee of ₹10 lakh per MW within 30 days of the Letter of Award, and the Battery Energy Storage Purchase Agreement (BESPA) is to be signed within 60 days of the award.

Contract Structure

The BESPA will be executed directly between the DISCOMs and the developer; APPCC acts only as bid coordinator. The agreement will run for 12 years from the scheduled commissioning date or full commissioning, whichever is later. Scheduled commissioning is 24 months from the BESPA effective date for Projects 1 and 3 and 18 months for Project 2. The DISCOMs will provide land on a right-of-use basis at ₹1 per acre per year, and no merchant capacity is permitted.

Notably, the tender is structured on a non-VGF basis. Bidders must price without any Viability Gap Funding or capital subsidy; if such support is later made available, including through any request by the state government to the Centre, its full benefit must be passed on to the DISCOMs as reduced capacity charges. The RfS follows the Ministry of Power’s BESS procurement guidelines of 10 March 2022, and discovered tariffs will be placed before APERC for adoption under Section 63 of the Electricity Act, 2003.

Technical and Performance Requirements

The tender is technology-agnostic, though refurbished cells are not allowed. Systems must operate at a C-rate of 0.25 and be configured in independently dispatchable blocks of 50 MW/200 MWh or 100 MW/400 MWh. Each block must support up to two cycles a day, capped at 485 cycles per contract year.

Developers must guarantee 95% annual availability, with liquidated damages at twice the capacity charges for any shortfall, and a monthly AC-to-AC round-trip efficiency of 85%. Efficiency below this level attracts damages at the state’s average power purchase cost, while performance above it earns an incentive of ₹0.50 per unit; efficiency below 70% for three consecutive months is an event of default. Minimum dispatchable capacity is set at 97.5% at the end of year one, declining to 70% by year twelve.

The entire contracted capacity must use grid-forming inverters, in line with the Central Electricity Authority’s advisory of 10 July 2026, with validated simulation models and type-test reports required before first-time charging. Fire barriers, a hydrant system approved by the state fire department and thermal surveillance cameras are also mandated.

Developer Obligations

Developers will build all evacuation infrastructure up to the interconnection point, including bays, at their own cost; these assets will transfer free of cost to APTRANSCO when the contract ends. Part-commissioning is allowed in up to three instalments, with the first covering at least 50% of capacity or 50 MW, whichever is lower. Delays beyond the scheduled date attract damages through proportionate encashment of the performance guarantee, for a maximum of six months. At the end of the term, batteries must be removed under the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022, and sites restored within 180 days.

Outlook

The RfS cites the Central Electricity Authority’s optimal generation mix report for 2029-30, which envisages 41,650 MW/208,250 MWh of battery storage nationally. The tender follows APPCC’s medium-term BESS tender (APPCC/BESS-01/2026-27) notified in late September and positions Andhra Pradesh to add large-scale, four-hour storage at its thermal and renewable hubs to manage peak demand and growing solar generation.

Official Sources

1. APPCC – RfS for 1,250 MW/5,000 MWh BESS, Tender No. APPCC/BESS-02/2026-27 (hosted by APEPDCL): View document
2. APEPDCL – Latest News: APPCC BESS tender notices (BESS-01 and BESS-02/2026-27): https://www.apeasternpower.com/home
3. ISN-ETS e-Tender Portal (official bidding portal for the RfS): https://www.bharat-electronictender.com/
4. Ministry of Power – Bidding Guidelines and Bidding Documents for Procurement of Power: View document