Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID) has invited bids to set up a 100 MW/200 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at the 220 kV Bhatinda substation in Punjab.

This tender is part of a larger one issued this January to set up 250 MW/500 MWh standalone storage systems.

Bids must be submitted by March 23, 2026. Bids will be opened on the same day.

Apart from installing the battery system, the scope of work entails setting up the power conversion (PCS) system, PCS transformers, the complete MV bus work at the 33 kV level, and interconnection with the 33 kV electrical system developed by POWERGRID. It also involves providing comprehensive maintenance services for 12 years.

The storage project must be commissioned within 15 months.

Bidders can apply through two routes.

Under the first route, bidders must have supplied, erected, tested, and commissioned energy storage systems with a cumulative capacity of 10 MWh as a prime contractor.

Alternatively, they must have supplied, erected, tested, and commissioned at least one solar or wind project in India with a minimum capacity of 50 MW as a prime contractor.

Or bidders must have erected, tested, and commissioned at least two air-insulated switchgear circuit breakers in one substation or switchyard equipped with bays of a minimum voltage level of 132 kV.

All these projects must have been commissioned within the previous seven years. They must have been operational as of the bid submission deadline.

Bidders applying under the second route must be battery manufacturers who have supplied batteries of at least 50 MWh for stationary grid applications in the last three years prior to the bid submission deadline.

Bidders must have a positive net worth for the preceding three years. They must have had a minimum average annual turnover of ₹2.36 billion (~$25.61 million) in the best three of the last five financial years.

Bidders must have liquid assets of at least ₹394 million (~$4.27 million). Alternatively, bidders must provide evidence of access to the availability of credit facilities for at least the same amount.

Recently, POWERGRID invited bids to set up a 50 MW/100 MWh BESS project in Patiala, Punjab.