Telangana’s 1,000 MW solar plant tenders designed to ‘favour’ big players like Adani

Industry sources say the government has designed the tender condition in such a way that small players cannot fulfil the conditions

Hyderabad: The State government’s plan to hand over works of installing 1,000 MW solar power plants across Telangana through self-help groups (SHGs) under the Indira Mahila Shakti Scheme, is likely to benefit big companies such as Adani Group, as the the government has designed the tender condition in such a way that small players cannot fulfil the conditions.

The Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation Limited (TGREDCO) recently invited tenders for solar plants with a cumulative capacity of 1,000 MW across the State under the Indira Mahila Shakti Scheme. The scheme aims to install 1 MW capacity solar power plants that will be operated by women SHGs. The deadline for submitting tenders is December 10.

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However, industry sources say the TGREDCO empanelled vendors, who have been active in the rooftop solar sector (up to 1 MW) in the State, will face challenges with the new tender, as the requirement for ground-mounted solar plants with 11/33 kV connectivity excludes vendors experienced in smaller-scale rooftop projects with LT (400V) terminations. Officials estimate that the cost of setting up a megawatt plant might be around Rs. 3 crore to Rs. 3.5 crore.

The notification stipulates that funds will be released only after 70 per cent of the works have been completed by the company that has won the tender for setting up the plant. This is in contrast with the practices of other government entities such as NTPC, SECL and BHEL.

There is also a condition that the company should give 10 per cent of the total work value as a bank guarantee, which was opposed by small companies in a pre-bid meeting held recently and requested the authorities to reduce it to 8 per cent so that small companies could take part in the tender.

There is another requirement that in order to win a tender for a megawatt plant, it must have an annual turnover of three times the cost of its installation. For instance, a vendor with a turnover of Rs 9 crore could only take up a maximum of 3 MW projects.

This restricts opportunities for MSMEs to scale up and forces them to remain small. Industry sources say it will be difficult for small industries to fulfil all these conditions, forcing them to withdraw from the tender process. Sources say representatives of big companies such as Adani Group attended the pre-bid meeting and that it would be difficult for companies in the State to compete with them and get tenders.

According to Telangana Solar Energy Association (TSEA) president B Ashok Kumar Goud, the State currently lacks a robust policy for solar plants exceeding 1 MW and the gap puts local businesses at a disadvantage, as most vendors lack experience in high-capacity ground-mounted projects, which were now mandatory under the tender conditions. “We request the government to revise tender conditions in the spirit of fairness and local economic growth,” he said.