The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has invited bids to select consultants to prepare a pre-feasibility report (PFR) and detailed project report (DPR) for the proposed 800 MW Kakkayam pumped storage project in Kozhikode, Kerala.

Bids must be submitted by November 20, 2025. Bids will be opened on November 24.

Bidders must submit a bid processing fee of ₹17,700 (~$200) and an earnest money deposit of ₹517,700 (~$5,838).

The selected bidder must submit a performance guarantee equivalent to 5% of the basic contract price at least 15 days before signing the contract.

The consultant must first prepare a PFR after conducting necessary surveys and investigations. This stage involves assessing the technical and financial viability of the project, preparing and securing stage I environmental clearance, and submitting the PFR for approval. If the project is deemed unviable at this stage, the assignment ends.

If the PFR is approved, the consultant must prepare a bankable DPR of international standards, covering all engineering, environmental, hydrological, grid-support, economic, and optimization studies required by Indian authorities and international financiers. The consultant must secure all necessary statutory clearances up to the stage of project execution and optimize the project layout, capacity, and configuration.

In addition, the consultant must prepare the complete bid and contract documents needed for selecting an engineering, procurement, and construction contractor, providing technical and commercial input to support KSEB through the procurement process.

The work must be completed within 30 days of receiving the work order.

Bidders must have been involved in consultancy services related to pumped storage projects for at least the last three years.

They should have completed two similar works, each with a capacity of 400 MW or above, for which techno-economic clearance has been obtained for at least one of these works. They could have also completed two similar works, each with a capacity of 400 MW or above, for which clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has been obtained for at least one work.

Bidders must have a positive net worth in at least two of the last three financial years.

Their average annual turnover in the preceding three financial years, as of the last date of bid submission, should be at least ₹85 million (~$958,529).

In February, the Ministry of Power issued guidelines for tariff-based competitive bidding to procure stored energy from existing, under-construction, or new pumped storage projects.

India has more than 81 GW of pumped storage in the pipeline, including approximately 12.4 GW under construction, about 3.3 GW in pre-construction, over 2.4 GW under examination after detailed project report submission, and nearly 63 GW in the survey and investigation phase, according to Mercom India Research’s India’s Energy Storage Landscape 1H 2025 Report.