SECI Opens FDRE Tender for 4.8 GWh of Peak Power Supply
Key points
- The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has invited bids to supply 4,800 MWh of peak power through a 1,200 MW project with four hours of storage.
- Online bids are due by 29 October 2026, and offline bids by 2 November 2026.
- The tender carries a penalty of 1.5 times the PPA tariff for supply shortfalls during peak hours.
The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a tender for Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy (FDRE) power, seeking a renewable developer to supply 4,800 MWh of peak power. Bidders can submit online bids until 29 October 2026 and offline bids until 2 November 2026.
What the tender covers?
The tender is for a 1,200 MW project with four hours of storage, to be built through renewable energy projects connected to the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) in India. Developers would set up the projects on a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis.
On bid size, the minimum is 50 MW and the maximum is 600 MW for a parent company, its affiliate, ultimate parent or any group company. Bidders can choose the ISTS substations where the project connects to the grid. They also get injection scheduling rights during non-solar hours on a pan-India basis.
How the power would be supplied?
The structure of peak supply is the most distinctive part of this tender. The Buying Entity can pick four hours from the Peak Hours in which it wants to draw energy from the project each day. Peak Hours can begin in the non-solar hours of the evening and run until the non-solar hours of the next morning, as defined by GRID-INDIA for the state where the project sits. Whichever four hours the buyer chooses for a day become that day’s Peak Hours.
The four hours must be chosen so that supply from the project is continuous for at least one hour. The tender requires delivery of 4,000 kWh of energy per MW of Contracted Capacity during those Peak Hours, and the power is supplied according to a daily schedule from the Buying Entity.
On the energy mix, a developer can offer power such that 100% of the annual energy offered is renewable. It may source up to 5% of the renewable energy annually from green market sources or bilateral agreements outside the PPA.
Penalty for falling short
The tender sets a firm obligation, and a clear cost for missing it. If a developer delivers less than the mandated energy during Peak Hours, which is 400 MWh for each 100 MW of capacity, it must pay a penalty of 1.5 times the PPA tariff.
The shortfall is calculated by month. A “month” here means the billing month defined in the PPA, and the shortfall is measured against the energy the developer was required to supply that month, based on the sum of the Peak Hours.
Timeline
The Scheduled Commencement of Supply Date (SCSD) for supplying power from the full project capacity is 18 months from the signing of the PPA.
Where tariffs stand: the earlier 1,500 MW round
Previous results give context for what this tender might price at. SECI previously awarded a 1,500 MW FDRE tender to winning bidders at Rs 5.99/kWh to Rs 6/kWh.
The tariff trend on that project has been downward. Bidding initially started at Rs 8.5/kWh, then slid from Rs 6.74/kWh to Rs 6.27/kWh over the last two years, bringing the peak power tariff down to Rs 6/kWh. Whether this new tender follows the same pattern will only be clear once bids are opened.
What readers should watch?
For developers, the key variables are the size of the bid (50 MW to 600 MW), the freedom to pick grid connection points, and the 18-month delivery window. For the buyer, the draw is the ability to choose when to take the power, within the four-hour peak window. And for the sector, the open question is where the tariff lands compared with the earlier Rs 5.99/kWh to Rs 6/kWh range.
