Guidelines for Procurement and Utilization of

Battery Energy Storage Systems as part of

Generation, Transmission and Distribution assets,
along with Ancillary Services
 SECTION I: BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION

A. PREAMBLE

1. Background

a. The growth of renewable energy in India has been one of the key success stories of the
nation’s energy sector. Today, Solar and Wind power have become integral to the
nation’s energy mix at par with the conventional energy sources. India has already
achieved installation of 100 GW of RE capacity enroute the ambitious journey of
installing 450 GW of RE by FY 2029-30. With the share of RE in India’s energy mix
significantly increasing, and in view of the targeted energy mix by 2029-2030, it is
pertinent to plan for optimum utilization of resources and selection of right resource mix
to meet the projected energy demand of the country.

b. With various global developments in technology and manufacturing, RE power has

become the most affordable and cheapest source for annual energy requirements. Initial
capacities have been successfully integrated to the grids so far, but with increasing
penetration of RE in the energy mix, further capacity addition is expected to face issues
due to supply-demand mismatch, wherein generation from RE sources happens mainly
during the low demand period and has an characteristic of being infirm in nature. Some
utilities have already started experiencing the effects of the integration renewables into
their grids and forcing curtailment of power. In this context, Central Electricity Authority
(CEA), in its report titled “Optimal Generation Capacity Mix for 2029-30”, dated
January, 2020, has envisaged a key disruption of replacement of thermal based generation
with renewable energy generation complemented with energy storage technology. In this
regard, an excerpt from the above report is reproduced below:

“This has been possible with the downward trend of cost of solar panels and newer
technology options like battery energy storage systems. In fact, the reduction in cost
projections is very aggressive for Battery Energy Storage technology to render them
financially viable in near future. In this context, planning for optimal generation
capacity mix gains tremendous importance so as the future generation capacity mix is
cost effective as well as environmental friendly, a horizon of 10-12 years is sufficient to
gear up the systems and policies in the right direction to achieve the optimal generation
mix.”

c. In addition to the above, Ancillary Services have been an integral part of the electricity
ecosystem all over the world. The basic services of frequency and voltage control are
embedded in the electricity supply system and in order to enable provision of these
basic services, specific support services are required to complement reliable and
efficient grid operation. These support services which act as ‘Value added Services’ are
known as ‘Ancillary Services’. The Ancillary Services comprise of services required
for maintaining load-generation balance (frequency control), maintaining voltage and
reactive power support and maintaining generation & transmission reserves. As an
initial step, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) had in 2013 floated
 a Staff Paper on “Introduction of Ancillary Services in Indian Electricity Market”. The
Staff Paper had discussed about the types of Ancillary Services such as the real power
support services or Frequency Support Ancillary Services/ Load following, Voltage or
reactive power support services and Black start support services. It was envisaged that
the generators having surplus capacity, (i.e. either un-requisitioned surplus capacity by
the beneficiaries of that capacity or generators who could not sell their capacity in the
market and/or surplus captive capacity) may be allowed to bid into the power exchange,
in a separate market segment.

d. Pursuant to above, CERC floated draft Regulations on Ancillary Service operation in

May, 2015. After consultations with the stakeholders, CERC decided that in order to
meet the current requirement, tertiary frequency control through utilization of un-
despatched surplus capacity available in generating stations at the inter-state level,
whose tariff is determined/adopted by CERC, may be introduced as Reserve Regulation
Ancillary Service (RRAS). The variable cost of RRAS provider is considered for merit
order despatch. In order to facilitate Congestion management, transmission constraints
(both interregional and intraregional) are considered during despatch of RRAS. Both
the fixed charges and variable charges are paid to the RRAS providers with a mark-up
as an incentive. The fixed charges are in turn refunded to the original beneficiary(s) in
proportion to the power surrendered. Therefore, at present the ancillary services in India
are provided by resources which are spinning and already scheduled at a certain MW
level with both headroom and legroom margins available (as reserves) for regulating
up and down. While, the scheduled MW is decided by the market participants, the
System Operator utilizes only the headroom and legroom of generation margins as
ancillary services for frequency control.

e. The above aspects rightly point out to the next course of direction of India’s energy
planning methodology-integrating Energy Storage Systems (ESS) with existing and
upcoming RE capacity in order to optimize generation and transmission mix.
Guidelines for setting up of new RE capacity through tariff-based bidding mechanism
are already in place. With respect to increasing the storage component in the energy
mix, Ministry of Power had requested the CEA in April, 2021, to submit a report on
identification of usage of storage as business case and for ancillary services. The Report
identifies Pumped Hydro Storage System (PSP) and Battery Energy Storage Systems
(BESS) as the commercially deployed solutions for providing requisite storage
capacity. The said CEA Study has revealed that the planning model selects the battery
energy storage system from the year 2027-28 onwards and a Battery Energy Storage
capacity of 27,000 MW/108,000 MWh (4-hour storage) is projected to be part of the
installed capacity in 2029-30. This will be in addition to 10,151 MW of Pumped Hydro
Storage System envisaged to be a component of the installed capacity in 2029-30.

f. With the limited support available from existing Pumped Hydro Storage Plants and the
long gestation period for the new Pumped Hydro Storage Plants, the circumstances
merit consideration of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) as one of the sources of
resource adequacy for the Indian power system. It has emerged that RE plus
storage/BESS can provide the required flexibility in generation apart from ensuring the
resource adequacy.
2. Objectives

The specific objectives of these Guidelines are as follows:

a. To promote procurement of BESS, as part of individual RE power projects or

separately, for addressing the variability/firming power supply / increasing energy
output / extending the time of supply from an individual RE project or a portfolio of
RE projects, augmentation of existing RE Projects and/or to provide ancillary, grid
support and flexibility services for the grid.

b. To promote procurement of BESS for optimum utilization of transmission and

distribution network.

c. To facilitate transparency and fairness in procurement processes/ and to provide for

a framework for an Intermediary Procurer as an Aggregator / Trading licensees /
Implementing Agency for the inter-state/intra-state sale-purchase of power.

d. To provide standardization and uniformity in processes and a risk-sharing

framework between various stakeholders, involved in the RE power supply and
procurement, thereby encouraging competition and enhanced bankability of the
Projects.

e. The BESS may be charged through a combination of RE and non-RE power, in line
with extant regulations, and these Guidelines will be applicable in all cases of
charging/discharging the BESS.

B. SCOPE OF THE GUIDELINES

1. Applicability of Guidelines

These Guidelines are being issued under the provisions of Section 63 of the Electricity
Act, 2003 for procurement of energy from BESS by the ‘Procurers’, through competitive
bidding, from grid-connected Projects, with following minimum project size and bid
capacity requirements:

(i) For Intra-State Projects: Minimum individual project size of power rating of 1 MW
and above with suitable energy rating based on application at one site with minimum
bid capacity of 1MW; and

(ii) For Inter-State Projects: Minimum individual project capacity of 50 MW and above
with suitable energy rating based on application at one site with minimum bid capacity
of 50 MW at the minimum voltage level as specified by the extant CERC
regulations/Detailed Procedure.

(iii)These Guidelines shall also be applicable for augmentation/ reconfiguration of

existing RE Projects through optimum use of storage
2. Unless explicitly specified in these Guidelines, the provisions of these Guidelines shall be
binding on the Procurer/ Intermediary Procurer/End Procurer/Implementing Agency and
the Authorised Representative of the Procurer. The process to be adopted in event of any
deviation proposed from these Guidelines is specified in Clause A, Section V of these
Guidelines.

3. Business Cases
Following business cases have been identified regarding utilization of BESS in supply of
energy and grid maintenance:
(i) RE supply with BESS: In this case, the BESS is included as part of the RE Project,
and ownership of the RE and BESS assets lies with the Generator. These Projects may
also be utilized to meet Peak power and firm dispatchable RE requirements of
Procurers.

(ii) BESS with transmission infrastructure: This model is aimed at maximization of the
utilization of the Storage Asset, increasing duration of usage of transmission system
and Strengthen Grid Stability. These systems will enable large-scale optimization of
transmission infrastructure by optimum utilization of transmission capacity and
reducing network congestion. As a result, the requirement of augmentation of
evacuation and transmission infrastructure gets drastically reduced.

(iii) Storage as an asset for balancing services and flexible operations: The BESS, with
fast ramp rate, is particularly suited for second-by-second management of interchange
flows. The system operator (for eg. POSOCO and SLDCs) may use BESS for
frequency control and balancing services to manage the inherent
uncertainty/variations in load and generation.

(iv) Storage for Distribution:. This model aims at maximization of the utilization of the
Storage Asset and strengthening DISCOM operations. Connected at the load centres,
it may be suitably utilized by the Discom to manage its peak load, grid resilience,
portfolio management and flexible operations. BESS can also be used to facilitate
large scale expansion of electric mobility segment as part of major consumers for the
Discoms. BESS can also be used as an optimum tool to achieve asset shifting by the
Discoms, thereby increasing asset life.

(v) Along with the business cases mentioned at Sl. No (i) to (iv) above, it is possible that
a certain component can also be earmarked for utilisation as merchant capacity by the
BESS developer. This component may be traded in power market as per extant
regulations.

(vi) Any other business model as found suitable by the Procurer/Intermediary Procurer.
4. These Guidelines shall be applicable for business cases identified above vide Sl. (ii) to
(vi). However, for Sl. (i) above, i.e. in case of systems which contain RE generating
stations along with BESS as a single Project (co-located or multi-located), the respective
Standard Bidding Guidelines issued for procurement of power from Solar, Wind and
Hybrid Power Projects, or the Unified Standard Bidding Guidelines, as issued by the
Ministry of Power, shall be applicable.
 SECTION II: DEFINITIONS
The terms used in these Guidelines will have the following meanings:
1. “Act” shall mean the Electricity Act, 2003, including subsequent amendments and
clarifications issued thereof.

2. “Adjusted Equity” shall mean the Equity funded in Indian Rupees and adjusted on the
first day of the current month (the “Reference Date”), in the manner set forth below, to
reflect the change in its value on account of depreciation and variations in Wholesale Price
Index (WPI), and for any Reference Date occurring between the first day of the month of
Appointed Date (the date of achievement of Financial Closure) and the Reference Date;

a. On or before Commercial Operation Date (COD), the Adjusted Equity shall be a

sum equal to the Equity funded in Indian Rupees and expended on the Project,
revised to the extent of one half of the variation in WPI occurring between the first
day of the month of Appointed Date and Reference Date;
b. An amount equal to the Adjusted Equity as on COD shall be deemed to be the base
(the “Base Adjusted Equity”);
c. After COD, the Adjusted Equity hereunder shall be a sum equal to the Base
Adjusted Equity, reduced by 0.333% (zero point three three three percent) thereof
at the commencement of each month following the COD [reduction of 1% (one
percent) per quarter of a year] and the amount so arrived at shall be revised to the
extent of variation in WPI occurring between the COD and the Reference Date;
For the avoidance of doubt, the Adjusted Equity shall, in the event of termination, be
computed as on the Reference Date immediately preceding the Transfer Date; provided
that no reduction in the Adjusted Equity shall be made for a period equal to the duration,
if any, for which the BSPA period is extended, but the revision on account of WPI shall
continue to be made.

3. “Affiliate” in relation to a Company shall mean a person who controls, is controlled by,
or is under the common control with such Company.

4. “Annual Availability” shall be as defined in the RfS.

5. “Appropriate Commission” shall have the same meaning as defined in the Act.

6. “Authorised Representative” of the Procurer: In cases, where the Battery Storage

Purchase Agreement (BSPA) signing agency and the agency carrying out the tendering /
bidding process are different, the agency carrying out the tendering / bidding process shall
be deemed to be the Authorized Representative of the ‘Procurer’ and will on behalf of the
Procurer be responsible for fulfilling all the obligations imposed on the ‘Procurer’ during
the bidding phase, in accordance with these Guidelines.

7. “Battery Storage System Developer” or “BSSD” or “Developer” shall mean the entity
owning/operating the BESS facility for supply of power under these Guidelines
8. “Battery Energy Storage Systems” or “BESS” or “Project” shall mean the
system(s)/projects utilizing methods and technologies such as electrochemical batteries
(Lead Acid, Li-ion, solid state batteries, flow batteries, etc.), providing a facility that can
store chemical energy and deliver the stored energy in the form of electricity, including
ancillary facilities (grid support, for example). Such systems may be co-located with an
RE Generating Stations, or may be operated on stand-alone basis.

9. “Bidding Agency” shall refer to the organization issuing tender documents and carrying
out the selection process under these Guidelines.

10. “Control” shall mean the ownership, directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the voting
shares of such Company or right to appoint majority Directors.

11. “Debt Due” shall mean the aggregate of the following sums expressed in Indian Rupees
outstanding on the Transfer Date:

a. The principal amount of the debt provided by the Senior Lenders under the Financing
Agreements for financing the Total Project Cost (the ‘Principal’) but excluding any part
of the principal that had fallen due for repayment 2 (two) years prior to the Transfer
Date;
b. All accrued interest, financing fees and charges payable under the Financing
Agreements on, or in respect of, the debt referred to in sub-clause (a) above until the
Transfer Date but excluding: (i) any interest, fees or charges that had fallen due 2 (two)
years prior to the Transfer Date, (ii) any penal interest or charges payable under the
Financing Agreements to any Senior Lender, (iii) any pre-payment charges in relation
to accelerated repayment of debt except where such charges have arisen due to Procurer
Default, and (iv) any Subordinated Debt which is included in the Financial Package and
disbursed by equity investors or their Affiliates for financing the Total Project Cost.

Provided that if all or any part of the Debt Due is convertible into Equity at the option of
Senior Lenders and/or the Concessionaire, it shall for the purposes of this Agreement be
deemed not to be Debt Due even if no such conversion has taken place and the principal
thereof shall be dealt with as if such conversion had been undertaken. Provided further
that the Debt Due, on or after COD, shall in no case exceed 80% (eighty percent) of the
Total Project Cost.

12. “End Procurer” shall mean the ultimate Procurer of energy from the Intermediary
Procurer or the Battery Storage System Developer as the case maybe; and shall include the
distribution licensee, bulk consumers, etc, as applicable.

13. “Financial Closure” or “Project Financing arrangements” shall mean arrangement of

necessary funds by the Battery Storage System Developer towards 100 % project cost
either by way of commitment of funds by the Company from its internal resources (by a
resolution passed by the Board of Directors) and/or tie up of funds through a bank/financial
institution by way of sanction of a loan or firm commitment letter agreeing to finance.
14. “Intermediary Procurer” or “Implementing Agency”: In some cases, an intermediary
between the distribution licensee(s) and the BSSD(s), or an “Implementing Agency” as
notified by the Government of India, may be required either to aggregate the power
purchased and / or firming the same with large scale energy storage capacity from different
developers, and sell it to the End Procurer(s). In such cases, the “Procurer” would be a
trading licensee or an Implementing Agency, buying power from the Developer(s) and
selling the same to one or more distribution licensees, such distribution licensees shall be
the “End Procurer” and the trading licensee shall be “Intermediary Procurer” for the
purpose of these Guidelines.

15. “Procurer” shall, as the context may require, shall mean the End Procurer, or an
Intermediary Procurer.

16. “Renewable Energy (RE) sources” shall refer to ‘solar photovoltaic’ (hereinafter also
referred as ‘solar’), ‘wind’ and ‘solar PV- wind hybrid’ (hereinafter also referred as
‘hybrid’) and other renewable energy sources as notified by the Government of India from
time to time.

17. “Renewable Power” or “RE Power” The term ‘RE Power’, wherever used in these
Guidelines, shall refer to power from Renewable Energy sources.

18. “RE Park” shall refer to areas or parks developed, in accordance with the Guidelines
and/or Policies issued by Central or State Governments, for setting-up of RE power
projects, including Solar, Wind or Solar-Wind Hybrid Power projects.

19. “Request for Selection” or “RfS” or “Tender” or “Bid Document” shall mean the
tender documents issued by the Bidding Agency, including Energy Purchase and Energy
Sale Agreements as applicable, for procurement of power through a competitive bidding
process under these Guidelines.

20. “Solar”: The term ‘Solar’, wherever used in these Guidelines, shall refer to Solar
Photovoltaic (PV) and Solar Thermal technologies or the power plant based on such
technologies.

21. “Wind’: The term ‘Wind’, wherever used in these Guidelines, shall refer to Wind energy
technology or the power plant based on such technology.
 SECTION III: BIDDING PROCESS AND AWARD OF PROJECTS

A. PREPARATION FOR INVITING BIDS AND PROJECT PREPAREDNESS

1. Conditions to be met by Procurer

1.1. Bid Documentation:
a. The Procurer shall prepare the bid documents in accordance with these Guidelines,
except as provided in sub clause b below.
b. The Procurer shall seek prior approval of the Appropriate Government for deviations,
if any, in the draft RfS, draft BSPA, draft BSSA (if applicable) from these Guidelines,
in accordance with the process described in Clause A, Section V of these Guidelines.
c. In case of an ongoing bidding under process prior to notification of these Guidelines,
the provisions of the specific tender documents shall prevail.

1.2. Site-related Project preparatory activities including clearances

In order to ensure timely commencement of supply of electricity being procured and to
convince the bidders about the irrevocable intention of the Procurer, it is necessary that
various Project preparatory activities as mentioned in Clause 1.4 and Clause 1.5 below
of these Guidelines are completed in time.

1.3. Arrangements related to site

As specified in the bidding documents to be issued by the Procurers, the Project may be
set up either at the Project site specified by the Procurer, or at the Project site selected by
the Developer. Multiple energy injection points in grid may be permitted, subject to
provisions in the tender document. In case of multiple injection points, the capacity of
Connectivity and Open Access for each individual energy injection point will be granted
as per extant regulations as amended from time to time. Further, for a single Project with
multiple injection points, scheduling and settlement as per Deviation Settlement
Mechanism will be carried out for each injection point separately. In such cases,
obligation of the Procurer will be to procure power from all or any of the points of
injection, cumulatively upto the Contracted Capacity as per the BSPA, and connectivity
granted at each injection point.

1.4. Project site specified by the Procurer

The Procurer may choose to locate the Project at a specified site and the same may be
specified by the Procurer in the bidding documents. In such cases, to ensure timely
commencement of supply of electricity, the Procurer shall ensure that various Project
preparatory activities as indicated below have been completed by the Procurer and all
entities involved as per the timelines indicated below.

Milestones Deadline
Identification of 100% area of the land and
substation (entails providing coordinates of land Along with issuance of tender
boundaries and substation location)- by the documents
Procurer
 Provision of documents/agreements to indicate
Along with issuance of tender
in-principle availability of 100 % of land - by the
documents
Procurer

The bidding agency should try to

conclude the tender within
Tendering process
3months of issuance of the tender
documents
30 days after issuance of LoA
Signing of BSPA (may be extended depending on
tender conditions)
Signing of Land lease/right-to-use Agreement Along with signing of BSPA
Grant of possession/right to use of 100% of land
area identified (free from all encumbrances)
Within 60 days of signing of BSPA
along with forest clearance if applicable- by the
Procurer
Within 30 days after in-principle
availability of 100 % of land
(Note: This is to reduce the time in
Application for grant of Connectivity and Open
planning of requisite system, if
Access by the STU/CTU (as applicable)-to be
required. Enabling provision in
facilitated/applied for by the Procurer/BSSD
CERC Connectivity Regulation
will be required to facilitate the
same)
In line with Clause B. of Section
Financial Closure
IV of these Guidelines.
Matching with original SCOD of
Substation readiness for evacuation of power-by
the Associated Transmission
the Procurer
System
Other legal clearances as required-by the
15 days prior to SCD
Procurer
In line with Clause C. of Section
Scheduled Commissioning Date (SCD)
IV of these Guidelines.

1.5. Project site specified by the Procurer in an RE Park

The Procurer may choose to locate the Project in a concentrated zone characterized with
proper infrastructure and access to amenities (RE Park) and the same may be specified
by the Procurer in the bidding documents. The RE Park shall be developed as per the
relevant Policies and/or Guidelines in this regard issued by MNRE/Central
Government/State Government (for eg. “Guidelines for Development of Solar Parks”,
issued by MNRE for ‘Solar Parks’). Notwithstanding this, to ensure timely
commencement of supply of electricity, the Procurer shall ensure that various Project
preparatory activities as indicated in the table below are initiated and completed by the
concerned RE Park developer as per the timelines mentioned therein. For RE Parks, the
responsibilities of the developer(s) of such Parks [for eg. Solar Power Park Developer
(SPPD) in case of ‘Solar Park’] shall flow from the relevant Policies and/or Guidelines
for development of such Parks, issued by MNRE/Central Government/State Government
and Implementation Support Agreement, if any, which defines the relationship between
the developer of such park and the BSSD.

Milestones Deadline
Identification of 100% area of the land
and substation (entails providing
coordinates of land boundaries and Along with issuance of tender documents
substation location)- by the Park
Developer
Provision of documents/ agreements to
indicate in-principle availability of 100 %
Along with issuance of tender documents
of land area at the initiation of bidding- by
the Park Developer
The bidding agency should try to conclude
Tendering process the tender within 3 months of issuance of
the tender documents
30 days after issuance of LoA (may be
Signing of BSPA extended depending on the tender
conditions)
Signing of Land lease agreement Along with signing of BSPA
Grant of possession/right to use of at
100% of land area identified (free from all
encumbrances) along with forest Within 60 days of signing of BSSA
clearance if applicable-by the Park
Developer
To be paid in 3 instalments:
25% along with signing of Land lease
agreement.
Payment of upfront charges to the Park Next 25% within 30 days of signing of
Developer- by the BSSD Land lease agreement.
Remaining 50% at the time of grant of
possession/right to use of 100% of land
area identified by the Park Developer
30 days after signing of BSPA subject to
in-principle availability of 100 % of land (
Application for Grant of Connectivity and
Note: This is to reduce the time in planning
Open Access by the STU/CTU (as per
of requisite system, if required. Enabling
extant regulations)- to be
provision in CERC Connectivity
facilitated/applied by the Park Developer
Regulation will be required to facilitate the
same)
In line with Clause B. of Section IV of
Financial Closure
these Guidelines.
 Substation readiness for evacuation of Matching with original SCOD of
power-by the Park Developer Associated Transmission System
Other legal clearances as required-by the
15 days prior to SCD
Park Developer
In line with Clause C. of Section IV of
Scheduled Commissioning Date (SCD)
these Guidelines.

2. Project site selected by the BSSD

In case the Procurer does not specify a site and the Project site is selected by the BSSD, to
ensure timely completion and commencement of supply of power, the bidder would be
required to submit documents in respect of project milestones as per the time schedule
specified in the bidding documents. Further, the BSSD/Procurer (as applicable) shall apply
for Connectivity/Open Access to the CTU/STU Grid (as required) for technical feasibility
of connectivity/Open Access of the plant to InSTS/ISTS substation which shall be processed
as per the extant Regulations in vogue.
In addition to the documents as identified, a letter from State Transmission Utility (STU)/
Central Transmission Utility (CTU), (or RE power park developer, in case of selected site
being in a RE park) as applicable, connectivity from STU/CTU, as applicable, shall be
required to be submitted by the BSSD prior to commissioning of the Project. If the Project
site is located in the same State as the Procurer/ End Procurer, State Government shall
endeavour to provide necessary support to facilitate the connectivity of the plant to
InSTS/ISTS substation.
Obtaining all other clearances prior to Project commissioning as required for Project
execution, shall be entirely the responsibility of the BSSD, and the Procurer shall not be
responsible in case of delay in obtaining the above clearances. Provisions regarding
treatment of the same will be explicitly provided in the tender documents.

B. BID STRUCTURE
1. Bid Package
The bids will be designed in terms of total capacity of storage. The minimum Project and
package sizes for the bids are indicated at Sl. B.1. of Section I above. However, in order to
have economies of scale, the Procurer is permitted to specify the minimum project size, that
a bidder is allowed to bid for, to be more than the above specified limits, as the case may
be. Notwithstanding this, on due consideration of availability of land and transmission
facility, smaller bid sizes can be kept in case of North-Eastern States, Special Category
States, and Projects outside RE Parks. The Procurer may also choose to specify the
maximum capacity that can be allotted to a single bidder including its Affiliates keeping in
mind factors such as economies of scale, land availability, expected competition and need
for development of the market.

2. Bidding Parameters
The Procurer may invite bids for the procurement in terms of (i) Capacity, or (ii) Energy or
a combination of both. A Capacity Procurement would entail that the Procurer pays for the
availability of power and an Energy Procurement would entail that the Procurer pays for the
dispatch/storage of energy. The bidding parameter, accordingly, would be:
 a) Availability based fixed charge/ Annuity (INR per kW/MW) per year for Term of the
Agreement, to be paid on a monthly basis and/or
b) Energy charge (INR per kWh/MWh) basis for Term of the Agreement payable on a
monthly basis based on actual utilization and/or
c) A quantum of VGF support required by the bidder for a pre-specified fixed Tariff /
Annuity available, or
d) A combination of the aforementioned options or any other parameter as specified in
the RfS

The Bidding Agency may specify in the RfS, one of the above bidding parameters, or a
combination thereof, depending on the BESS application and the Procurer off-take
arrangements. to be specified in the RfS.

The minimum Term of the BSPA is envisaged to be 8 years which could be increased as per
requirement of procurement.

C. BIDDING PROCESS
1. The Procurer shall call for the bids adopting a single stage, two part (Technical Bid &
Financial Bid), bidding process to be conducted preferably through electronic mode (e-
bidding). The technical bid shall be opened first. The financial bids of only those bidders
who qualify in the technical bid evaluation stage, shall be opened. The Procurer may adopt
e-reverse auction if it so desires, for selection of successful bidders, however, in such a case,
this will be specifically mentioned in the notice inviting bids and bid document. E-
procurement platforms with a successful track record and with adequate safety, security and
confidentiality features will be used. In case of a RE Park specific project, intimation about
the initiation of the bidding process shall be given by the Procurer to the RE Power Park
Developer, who has to engage actively in the bidding process by providing all the necessary
land and infrastructure related details and making the same available in centralized data
rooms accessible to bidders.

2. The Procurer shall invite the bidders to participate in the RfS for installation of BESS based
Projects, in terms of these Guidelines.

3. The bidding documents including the RfS, draft BSPA and draft BSSA (if applicable), shall
be prepared by the Procurer in consonance with these Guidelines. The Procurer shall also
arrange the access of the bidders to the drafts of Implementation Support Agreement and
land related agreements, in case the Project is required to be set up in a RE Park.

4. The Procurer shall publish the RfS notice in the Central/State Public Procurement Portal
and/or its own website to accord wide publicity.

5. The Procurer shall provide opportunity for pre-bid conference to the prospective bidders,
and shall provide written interpretation of the tender documents to any bidder which shall
also be made available to all other bidders. All the concerned parties shall rely solely on the
written communication. Any clarification or revision to the bidding documents shall be
uploaded on the website of the Procurer for adequate information. In the event of the
 issuance of any revision or amendment of the bidding documents, the bidders shall be
provided a period of at least 7 days therefrom, for submission of bids.

D. REQUEST FOR SELECTION (RFS) DOCUMENT

The standard provisions to be provided by the Procurer in the RfS shall include the following:
1. Bid Responsiveness
The bid shall be evaluated only if it is responsive and satisfies conditions including inter-
alia:
(a). Bidder or any of its Affiliates should not be a wilful defaulter to any lender;
(b). There should be no major litigation pending or threatened against the bidder or any of
its Affiliates which are of a nature that could cast a doubt on the ability or the suitability
of the bidder to undertake the Project.

2. Qualification requirements to be met by the bidders

a) General Eligibility Criteria: Bidders participating in the tenders issued under these
Guidelines should fall under either of the following categories:
i. A Company under the Companies Act, 2013.
ii. A Foreign Company under the respective nation’s laws.
iii. Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) as registered under SEBI. “AIF” shall be as
defined by SEBI.
iv. A Consortium comprising the above entities.

The above would be subject to the relevant Acts, Rules, Guidelines, Orders and Policy
documents of the Government of India as amended from time to time.

b) Technical Eligibility Criteria: The Government would like to encourage competition by

way of increased participation. However, in order to ensure proper implementation of the
Projects, the Procurer may choose to specify Technical Eligibility Criteria such as past
experience of the bidders, timely execution of infrastructure projects, etc. Such criteria
should be set after an assessment of the number of project developers that are expected to
meet the criteria so that an adequate level of competition is achieved. Cut-off date for
meeting the technical criteria should generally be kept as the end date of the financial year
that is previous to the financial year in which the bid is issued.
c) Financial Eligibility Criteria:
i. Net-worth/Asset Under Management (AUM) or Investible Funds: The Procurer shall
specify financial criteria in the form of net-worth as a part of the qualification
requirement. The net-worth requirement should be at least 20% (twenty per cent) of the
estimated capital cost of the Project, for the financial year in which bids are issued. The
estimated capital cost of the Project will be determined by an internal committee
constituted by the Intermediary Procurer/End Procurer for determining qualification
requirements of the tender, and the same will be duly approved by the MD/CEO of the
respective organization. In case of the Bidder being a SEBI registered AIF, the
cumulative value of Assets Under Management (AUM) with minimum requirement as
decided by the Procurer/Intermediary Procurer shall be demonstrated as part of Financial
Eligibility Criteria. In this context, AUM shall mean the amount as certified by the
Statutory Auditor of the AIF.
 The net-worth/value of AUM to be considered for the above purpose will be the
cumulative net-worth of the bidding company/AIF or consortium members. Except in
the case of AIFs, the Bidder may seek qualification on the basis of financial capability of
its Affiliate(s) for the purpose of meeting the Net Worth criteria as per the RfS. In case
the Bidder being a Bidding Consortium, any Member may meet the above criteria on the
basis of financial capability of its Affiliate(s). In both cases, such Affiliates shall
undertake to contribute the required equity funding and performance bank guarantees in
case the bidder(s) fail to do so in accordance with the RfS.

It is clarified that the net-worth to be considered for this clause will be the total net-worth
as calculated in accordance with the Companies Act, 2013, and AUM or investible funds
to be considered under this clause will be calculated in accordance with applicable SEBI
(AIF) Regulations.

For the limited purpose of meeting the technical and financial eligibility criteria in the
tenders, the bidders may use credentials of those Affiliates who do not control more than
50% of the bidding company, subject to the following:

a. The qualification criteria parameters will be met proportionately to the equity

contribution of the entity whose credentials are being used to meet the requirement.
For example, in case of Net Worth requirement being Rs. 100 Cr., and the strength of
an Affiliate is used which owns 30% of the total shareholding in the bidder, the said
Affiliate will be able to meet upto Rs. 30 Cr. of the Net Worth.

b. In case the strength of an Affiliate is being used for meeting the eligibility criteria,
shareholding pattern of the respective Affiliate will be locked-in upto COD of the
Project.

ii. Liquidity: It is necessary that the bidder has sufficient cash flow/ internal accruals/ any
bank reference to manage the fund requirements for the Project. Accordingly, the
Procurer may also stipulate suitable parameters such as annual turnover, PBDIT, internal
resource generation, bank references/line of credit, etc.

E. BID SUBMISSION AND EVALUATION

1. Formation of consortium by bidders shall be permitted, in which case the consortium shall
identify a lead member which shall be the contact point for all correspondences during the
bidding process.
2. The Bidding Agency will specify suitable technical and financial eligibility criteria for the
bidders, in the tender documents.
3. The Procurer shall constitute committee for evaluation of the bids (Evaluation Committee),
with at least three members, including at least one member with expertise in financial
matters / bid evaluation.
4. The bidders may be required to submit non-refundable processing fee and/or success fee, as
specified in the RfS.
5. The bidders shall be required to submit separate technical and price bids. The bidders shall
also be required to furnish necessary bid-guarantee in the form of an EMD along with the
bids.
6. The technical bids shall be evaluated to ensure that the bids submitted meet the eligibility
criteria set out in the RfS document on all evaluation parameters. Only the bids that meet
the evaluation criteria set out in the RfS shall be considered for further evaluation on the
price bids.
7. To ensure competitiveness, the minimum number of qualified Bidders should be two. If the
number of qualified bidders is less than two, even after three attempts of bidding, and the
Procurer still wants to continue with the bidding process, the same may be done with the
consent of the Appropriate Commission.
8. The price bid shall be liable to be rejected, if the bid submitted by the Bidder contains any
deviation from the tender conditions.
9. Bid evaluation methodology to be adopted by the Procurer for evaluating the bids: Bid
Evaluation shall be carried out in terms of parameters as brought at Clause B2 above through
ranking of Bids in ascending order of the Bidding Parameter. Wherever applicable, the
Bidding Agency may choose to carry out electronic reverse auction for award of Projects.
10.
The detailed procedure for evaluation of the bid and selection of the successful bidder(s)
shall be provided for in the RfS.

F. INDICATIVE TIME TABLE FOR BID PROCESS

The bidding process should be completed within 3 months of the date of issuance of RfS by
the Procurer. It is clarified that if the Procurer gives extended time for any of the events in the
bidding process, on account of delay in achieving the activities required to be completed
before the event, or any other reason, such extension of time shall not in any way be construed
as deviation from these Guidelines.

G. CONTRACT AWARD AND CONCLUSION

1. After the conclusion of bidding process, the Evaluation Committee constituted for evaluation
of bids shall critically evaluate the bids and certify as appropriate that the bidding process and
the evaluation has been conducted in conformity to the provisions of these Guidelines.

2. The BSPA shall be signed with the successful bidder/ project company or an SPV formed by
the successful bidder.

3. The BSPA shall be executed between BSSD and Procurer. In case of involvement of the
Intermediary Procurer, BSPA shall be executed between the BSSD and Intermediary Procurer
and the BSSA shall be executed between the Intermediary Procurer and the End Procurer.
The BSPA(s) should preferably be signed immediately after signing of the BSSA(s). The
provisions of BSPA and BSSA will be on a back-to-back basis, except for tariff payment.

4. The Intermediary Procurer shall enter into the Battery Storage Purchase Agreement (BSPA)
/ Power Purchase Agreement with the Developer(s) and enter into an Battery Storage Sale
Agreement (BSSA) /Power Sale Agreement with the distribution licensee(s)/ consumer(s).
The BSSA shall contain the relevant provisions of the BSPA on a back-to-back basis. The
Intermediary Procurer shall be entitled to charge trading margin of seven paise/kWh or 0.5%
of the Capacity Charges (INR /MWh) as Capacity Charge Margin (as applicable) from the
Buying entity / Procurer for purchase and sale of such power. As long as the Intermediary
 Procurer follows these Guidelines for procurement of BESS, the End Procurer(s) shall be
deemed to have followed these Guidelines for procurement of such power. The power
procurement for Distribution licensees in some States is centralized through a holding
company or another government agency. Such companies/ agencies will be considered as
Procurer and not as Intermediary Procurer for the purposes of these Guidelines.

5. In case of delay in signing of BSPA beyond 6 months from the date of issuance of LoAs, or
any other extended date as mutually agreed between the Bidding Agency and the successful
bidders, the awarded capacity shall stand cancelled. In certain cases, after the above deadline,
if the cumulative capacity eligible for signing of BSPAs is lower than the cumulative capacity
awarded under the tender, further course of action will be decided by the Bidding Agency,
which will be clearly specified in the tender document.

6. For the purpose of transparency, the Procurer shall, after the execution of the BSPA, publicly
disclose the name(s) of the successful bidder(s) and the tariff / charges quoted by them
together with breakup into components, if any. The public disclosure shall be made by posting
the requisite details on the website of the Procurer for at least 30 (thirty) days.

7. Subject to provisions of the Act, the distribution licensee or the Intermediary Procurer, as the
case may be, should approach the Appropriate Commission for adoption of tariffs (including
capacity charges, if applicable) discovered and quantum of capacity / electricity to be
procured, within 30 days of issuance of Letter(s) of Award to the successful bidder(s). In case
the tariff (including capacity charges, if applicable) adoption procedure requires signed BSPA
to be submitted alongwith, the above timeline may be extended suitably. In case of RE+ BESS
projects, where separate contracts are issued by the intermediary procurer for procurement of
RE power and Procurement of storage capacity, the storage capacity charges may need to be
converted into tariff, in such case, the intermediary procurer will submit the proposal to the
regulatory commission for the conversion of capacity charge to tariff.

8. In some cases, the Intermediary Procurer/Procurer may also stipulate a fixed value as one of
the components of a two-part tariff. In such cases, the above fixed part of the tariff need not
require any tariff adoption by the Appropriate Commission, and will be deemed to be
applicable under these Guidelines.

9. Subsequent to the End Procurer/Intermediary Procurer approaching the Appropriate

Commission for adoption of tariffs, in case, the Appropriate Commission does not decide
upon the same within 120 days from the Effective Date of the BSPA, the Procurer(s) shall
grant appropriate extension of time in financial closure deadline and scheduled
commissioning date to the BSSDs, corresponding to the delay (beyond 120 days of Effective
Date of BSPA) in adoption by the Appropriate Commission, till the date of adoption by the
Appropriate Commission.
H. BANK GUARANTEES/PAYMENT ON ORDER INSTRUMENTS/ LETTERS
OF UNDERTAKING
1. The BSSD shall provide the following instruments to the Procurer in terms of the RfS and
the BSPA:
a. Earnest Money Deposit (EMD), to be fixed by the Procurer, but not to be more than 1%
(one percent) of the estimated capital cost of the Project, for the financial year in which
the bids are invited, to be submitted along with response to RfS. The Bidding Agency /
Procurer shall have the option to specify modes / forms of accepting EMD, taking into
due consideration the notifications/Government Resolutions notified by the
Appropriate Government, in the form of:
i. Bank Guarantee(s);
OR
ii. "Payment on Order instrument" / Letter of Undertaking to pay in case situation of
default of BSSD in terms of BSPA arises, from any agency as notified by the
Government of India or State Governments from time to time, for this purpose, to
be furnished by the bidders. Forfeiture of EMD or blacklisting/debarring etc, as
defined in these Guidelines, shall be undertaken in the event of failure of the BSSD
to execute the BSPA within the stipulated time period.

"Payment on Order instrument" means Letter of Undertaking from any agency as

notified by the Government of India or State Governments from time to time for this
purpose, to pay in case situation of default of Battery Storage System Developer (BSSD)
in terms of tender documents and/or Battery Storage Purchase Agreement (BSPA)
arises. Such Letter(s) will have same effect as that of a Bank Guarantee issued by any
public sector bank. Such "Payment on Order instrument" would have terms and
conditions similar to that of any Bank Guarantee given by any public sector bank and
would promise to pay the Procurer on demand within stipulated time. BSSD can seek
such Letters(s) by offering due security to the above mentioned three non-banking
financial institutions mentioned above. Procurer(s) shall not accept the instrument of
'Letter of Undertaking' as described above or in any other form, from any other non-
banking financial institutions or bank, except from the institutions as notified above.

b. Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG), to be fixed by the Procurer, but not to be more
than 3% (three five percent) of the Project cost, for the financial year in which the bids
are invited, to be submitted at the time of signing of the BSPA. The Bidding Agency /
Procurer shall have the option to specify modes / forms of accepting EMD, taking into
due consideration the notifications/Government Resolutions notified by the
Appropriate Government, in the form of:
i. Bank Guarantee(s);
OR
ii. "Payment on Order instrument" / Letter of Undertaking to pay in case situation of
default of BSSD in terms of Power Purchase Agreement (BSPA) arises, from any
agency as notified by the Government of India or State Governments from time to
time for this purpose.
2. In addition to the other remedies, the PBG (or the alternative provided thereto as per these
Guidelines) can be encashed to recover any damages/dues of the BSSD in terms of the
BSPA. It is hereby clarified that the damages/dues recovered by the Intermediary Procurer
by encashing the PBG, upon the default of the BSSD under the BSPA, shall be credited to
the Payment Security Fund to be maintained by the Intermediary Procurer under Clause G,
Section IV of these Guidelines. PBG (or alternatives provided thereto as per these
Guidelines) shall be returned to the BSSD within 45 days of the commissioning of the
project. In case of part commissioning, PBG/Payment on Order Instrument corresponding
to the part capacity commissioned, should be released within 45 days of such part-
commissioning. As an alternative to encashment of PBG/Payment on Order Instrument, the
Procurer/Intermediary Procurer may also provide an option to the BSSD to furnish the
requisite amount to the Procurer/Intermediary Procurer through DD/electronic payment,
against release of the PBG/Payment on Order Instrument concerned without any
encashments.

3. Procurer(s) may release the Bank Guarantees submitted by BSSD as ‘Performance Bank
Guarantee (PBG)’ of any project, if the BSSD is able to replace the same with "Payment on
Order instrument" / Letter(s) of Undertaking as per Clause H.1.b.ii. above, to pay in case
situation of default of the BSSD in terms of BSPA arises. BSSD can seek such Letters(s) by
offering due security to the notified agencies for seeking replacement of their Bank
Guarantees already pledged with the Procurer.

I. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Procurers shall promote commercially established and operational technologies to minimize

the technology risk and to achieve the commissioning of the Projects. The detailed technical
parameters, for type of RE projects covered and to be selected under these Guidelines, shall
be specified by Ministry of Power from time to time. An indicative list of technical
specifications is brought out in Appendix-2 to these Guidelines.
 SECTION IV: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECT

A. BATTERY STORAGE PURCHASE AGREEMENT (BSPA)

The draft BSPA proposed to be entered into with the successful bidder and draft BSSA (if
applicable) shall be issued along with the RfS. Standard provisions to be incorporated as
part of this BSPA shall include inter alia the following, which, unless otherwise specified
herein, shall be provided for, on a back-to-back basis in the BSSA.

1. Term of the BSPA

In view of the currently prevailing life cycle of Battery systems being used without
replacement, the minimum term of the BSPA period should be 8 (eight) years from the
Scheduled Commissioning Date (SCD) or the date of full commissioning of the Project,
whichever is later. The BSSD is free to operate the plants after the expiry of the BSPA
period, in case the arrangements with the land and infrastructure owning agencies, the
relevant transmission utilities and system operators so provide. It is hereby clarified that
in cases where the Project site is specified by the Procurer to be located either in a RE
Park or otherwise, the responsibility of the Procurers to arrange for the land in terms of
Clauses A.1.1.4 and A.1.1.5 of Section III of the Guidelines shall be limited for the BSPA
period.

2. Performance Parameters of the Project

The procurement of power could either be in capacity (kW/MW) and/or energy
(kWh/MWh) terms.

a) The bidding documents may specify performance parameters such as availability,

charging/discharging rate, efficiency, ramp rate, etc. In case of availability being a
performance parameter in a tender, in order to ensure the End Procurer’s requirements
are met, minimum availability to be maintained by the BESS should be specified in the
RfS. Further, based on the specific usage of the BESS envisaged under the tender, the
BSSD may be required to meet the minimum monthly and / or Annual Availability
requirements, or to declare availability on a day-ahead basis. The minimum availability
criteria to be met may also be limited to the specified hours in a day/peak hours in a
day, on which the shortfall in meeting such criteria will be calculated. The hours of
storage and the performance parameters may be decided by the Procurer.

b) Procurement of capacity (MW) and scheduling for energy

In case procurement is done for scheduling of energy in various time blocks, the
Procurer will mention the capacity with clear conditions on “minimum availability to
be provided by the BSSD and minimum off take energy schedule to be provided by the
procurer”. In such projects, the minimum off-take and availability should not be less
than “xx%” of the contracted capacity.
• Availability based Capacity charge: Irrespective of scheduling of energy by the
procurer, the procurer shall pay the capacity charge for the capacity made
available by the BSSD.
 • If the energy is by the procurer, the BSSD will deliver the energy back after
accounting for pre-specified conversion losses.
• If the energy also provided BSSD, the procurer shall pay for the pre-quoted
energy charge, for the energy supplied also. However, the procurer would
guarantee the minimum monthly and annual off take guarantee of power.
• Fixed charge: For the difference energy between the availability proposed by
BSSD and scheduled by the Procurer, the Procurer shall pay pre-defined fixed
charge which can be defined as xx % of the tariff.
• Excess availability: to ensure the availability of capacity during entire agreement
period, the developer is allowed to install any extra capacity. In such a scenario,
the BSSD is free to sell excess battery capacity / energy in open market beyond
the committed capacity to the Procurer, with first right of refusal being vested
with the Procurer.

“xx%” in the above provisions shall be determined as per the bidding documents.

c) Liquidated Damages on account of shortfall in meeting performance criteria:

There will be liquidated damages payable for shortfalls against the performance
parameters, the amount will be
(i) On pro rata basis for the shortfall below the committed capacity availability @
capacity charge or any number predefined in RfS.
(ii) On pro-rata basis For the shortfall in supply of committed energy at the tariff or
any number predefined in RfS.
(iii) the BSSD shall pay for the excess Energy loss @ Tariff of input energy
provided by the procurer.
(iv) For any performance deviations, related to the parameters for ancillary
services, the predefined liquidated damages defined by the procurer in the RfS
shall be levied.
(v) Any other Liquidated Damages as defined in the RfS Document
d) The amount of the liquidated damages as detailed is genuine and reasonable pre-
estimate of the damages that may be suffered by the Procurer/Intermediary Procurer(s)
as specified under the BSPA or in the BSSA.

3. Replenishing

The BSSDs will be free to replenish the battery capacity time to time during the BSPA
duration at their cost and expense to meet the performance criteria. However, the
Procurer will be obligated to buy power only within the performance range as specified
in the BSPA and at the charges applicable as per the existing agreements. Any excess
supply will be dealt as specified in Clause A.2.(b) of Section IV of these Guidelines.

B. FINANCIAL CLOSURE

1. The BSSD shall attain the Financial Closure in terms of the BSPA, within the date as on
9 months after Effective Date of the BSPA. However, if for any reason, the time period
for attaining the financial closure needs to be reduced than that provided in these
Guidelines, the Procurer can do the same.
2. Failing the aforesaid, the Procurer/Intermediary Procurer shall encash the PBG/POI unless
the delay is on account of delay in allotment of land by the Procurer in terms of Clause
A.1.1.4 and Clause A.1.1.5 of Section III of these Guidelines or delay in allotment of land
by the Government not owing to any action or inaction on the part of the BSSD or is caused
due to a Force Majeure. An extension for the attainment of the financial closure can
however be considered by the Procurer, on the sole request of the BSSD, on payment of
extension charges of Rs. 1,000 per MW per day of delay in financial closure. This
extension will not have any impact on the Scheduled Commissioning Date (SCD). Any
extension charge paid so, shall be returned to the BSSD without any interest on
achievement of successful commissioning of full Project capacity within the SCD. In other
cases, such penalty / extension charges will be credited to the Payment Security Fund
maintained by the Procurer / Intermediary Procurer.

3. Any delay in adoption of tariff by the Appropriate Commission, beyond 120 days after
Effective Date of BSPA shall entail a corresponding extension in financial closure
deadline.

C. COMMISSIONING

1. Part Commissioning
a. Part commissioning of the Project shall be accepted by the Procurer subject to the
condition that the minimum capacity for acceptance of first part commissioning shall
be 50% of Project Capacity or 50 MW, whichever is lower, without prejudice to the
imposition of penalty, in terms of the BSPA on the part which is not commissioned. For
ISTS-connected Projects, the minimum part commissioning capacity for the 1st part will
be 50 MW. The total number of instalments in which a Project can be commissioned
will be not more than 3, i.e., 1st initial instalment and 2 subsequent instalments.
However, the Scheduled Commissioning Date (SCD) will not get altered due to part-
commissioning. Irrespective of dates of part commissioning or full commissioning, the
BSPA will remain in force for a period of minimum 8 years from the SCD or date of
full commissioning of the Project capacity, whichever is later.

b. In case of part-commissioning of the Project, the BSSD shall be required to submit

documents/Lease Agreement to establish possession/right to use of the required land,
corresponding to part capacity being commissioned, in the name of the BSSD for a
period not less than the complete term of the BSPA, on or before the date of such part-
commissioning.

c. For capacity procurement contracts, in case of part commissioning, payments as per the
BSPA may be made on pro-rata basis, proportionate to the capacity commissioned. The
procurement of part commissioned capacity will be based on the sole discretion of the
procurer/intermediary procurer. If the procurer/intermediary procurer are not interested
to consider procurement of the part capacity till commissioning, the part commissioned
capacity will be allowed to sell in the open market till SCD
2. Early Commissioning
The BSSD shall be permitted for full commissioning as well as part commissioning of
the Project even prior to the SCD subject to availability of transmission connectivity
and/or open access, if applicable. In cases of early part commissioning, till SCD, the
BSSD will be free to sell the electricity generated / battery capacity, to any entity other
than the Procurer(s), provided that the first right of refusal will be vested with the
Procurer(s). The Procurer(s) /Intermediary Procurer shall provide refusal within 15
(fifteen) days from the receipt of the request, beyond which it would be considered as
deemed refusal. In cases of early commissioning of full Project capacity prior to SCD, in
case the Procurer agrees to purchase such early commissioned power, the
Procurer/Intermediary Procurer shall purchase the generation at BSPA/BSSA tariff, as
applicable.

3. Commissioning Schedule
a. The BSSD shall commission the Project, in terms of the BSPA, as per following
timelines:
i. In case of Project capacity upto (and including) 250 MW, the Scheduled
Commissioning Date (SCD), i.e., the maximum timeline for commissioning of
Projects without any liquidated damages, shall be the date as on 15 months after
the Effective Date of the BSPA.

ii. In case of Project capacity more than 250 MW the SCD shall be the date as on 24
months after the Effective Date of the BSPA.

However, if for some reason, the scheduled commissioning period needs to be reduced
than that provided in these Guidelines, the Procurer can do the same subject to
confirmation from CTU/STU regarding evacuation margins in ISTS/Intra-STS
transmission system.

b. Subject to the provisions of these Guidelines regarding Force Majeure, delay in

commissioning, beyond the Scheduled Commissioning Date shall involve liquidated
damages on the BSSD, as detailed below:
i. For delay in commissioning upto 6 months after SCD, the BSSD shall be levied
liquidated damages in the form of encashment of the PBG/POI on a per-day basis,
pro-rata to the Contracted Capacity not commissioned. Payment of such liquidated
damages could be done as follows:
• By direct payment of the damages of to the Procurer/Intermediary Procurer
• By encashment of the BG/POI

The BSSD would have the option of choosing between these two options and the
time period for making this choice will be specified in the BSSA/BSPA.

ii. For delay in commissioning beyond 6 months after SCD, Contracted Capacity shall
be reduced to the project capacity commissioned upto 6 months year after SCD,
the entire Performance Guarantee will be encashed by the Procurer/Intermediary
Procurer and the BSPA for the Project shall stand terminated for the balance un-
commissioned capacity.
 iii. However, if for some reason, the above period of liquidated damages needs to be
reduced than that provided in these Guidelines, the Procurer can do the same.

c. Any delay in adoption of tariff (including capacity charges, if any) by the Appropriate
Commission, beyond 120 days after Effective Date of the BSPA, shall entail a
corresponding extension in SCD.

d. Land arrangements: It may be noted that commissioning/ part-commissioning of the

Project will not be declared until the BSSD submits documents/ Lease Agreement to
establish possession/ right to use of the required land, corresponding to full/ part
capacity being commissioned, in the name of the BSSD for a period not less than the
complete term of the BSPA, on or before the date of such full / part commissioning.

4. Delay in Commissioning on account of delay in Connectivity/Long Term Access

(LTA) Operationalisation:
In certain Projects, Connectivity and Long Term Access (LTA) shall be required to be
submitted by the BSSD prior to commissioning of the project. Subsequent to grant of
connectivity, in case there is a delay in grant/operationalisation of LTA by the CTU/
STU and/or there is a delay in readiness of the ISTS/ InSTS substation at the Delivery
Point/Injection Point, including readiness of the power evacuation and transmission
infrastructure of the ISTS/ InSTS network until SCD of the Project, and it is established
that:
i. The BSSD has complied with the complete application formalities as per the
Connectivity Procedure.
ii. The BSSD has adhered to the applicable Procedure in this regard as notified by the
CERC/ SERC/JERC/CTU/ STU, and
iii. The delay in grant of connectivity/ LTA by the CTU/ STU and/or delay in readiness
of the ISTS/ InSTS substation at the Delivery Point, including readiness of the
power evacuation and transmission infrastructure of the ISTS/ InSTS network, is a
factor attributable to the STU/ CTU/ transmission licensee and is beyond the
control of the BSSD;

The above shall be treated as delays beyond the control of the BSSD and SCD for such
Projects shall be revised as the date as on 30 days subsequent to readiness of the
Delivery Point and power evacuation infrastructure and/or operationalization of LTA.
Decision on requisite extension on account of the above factor shall be taken by
Procurer / Intermediary Procurer.

D. COMMERCIAL OPERATION DATE (COD)

In case of part commissioning, Commercial Operation Date (COD) will be declared only
for that part of project capacity. The Commercial Operation Date (COD) of the project
[Project COD] shall be considered as the next day after the actual date of commissioning
of the full capacity of the Project or the last part capacity of the Project as the case may be,
as declared in line with the commissioning procedure as provided in the BSPA. Similarly,
for each part commissioning, COD will be the next day after actual date of commissioning
of the respective part capacity.
 The BSSD shall obtain necessary safety clearances from the Central Electricity
Authority/CEIG prior to commissioning of the Project.

Commissioning shall be as per the Commissioning Procedure as per extant CERC

Regulation.

E. TRANSMISSION CONNECTIVITY

1. The Project shall be designed for inter-connection with InSTS / ISTS substation, either
directly, or through a Pooling Substation where other projects also inter-connect prior to
the InSTS / ISTS substation, through a transmission network as per applicable regulations,
at the appropriate voltage level, as specified by the Procurer/STU/CTU, in line with the
applicable CERC/SERC Regulations. The entity responsible for the construction of the
relevant transmission infrastructure shall be clearly specified in the bidding documents.
Depending on the implementation arrangements and design of the evacuation system, the
capital costs of the transmission lines and substations prior to the InSTS / ISTS substation
may either be directly paid by the BSSD, or paid by the RE park developer or another
implementation agency and claimed from the BSSD as directly attributed or apportioned
and recovered in lump sum or as payments over the years.

2. In cases, where the Project site is not specified by the Procurer, the responsibility of getting
Connectivity and LTA/ Access to the transmission system owned by the STU / CTU/
Transmission Licensee will lie with the BSSD and shall be at the cost of the BSSD. In this
regard, the Bidding Agency, in consultation with the CTU/STU, may provide a list of
substations, from which the bidders may choose the delivery points in a particular tender..

3. In cases, where the Project site specified by the Procurer is not in a RE Park, the Procurer
could choose to require the BSSD to bear the responsibility and cost of getting
Transmission Connectivity and LTA/ Access.

4. In case there are multiple procurers with Battery Storage Purchase Agreements for
different periods of a year, the transmission access and connectivity may be provided by
nodal agency as per extant regulations.

5. In cases where the Procurer specifies a RE Park, where the Project is to be located,
damages, fines and charges imposed by the CTU/ STU under any statute or regulation in
relation to delay in commissioning of Project shall be payable by the BSSD to the extent
the delay is attributable to the BSSD and the balance shall be payable by the Procurer.

6. The benefit of waiver of Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) charges and losses, if
any, as per the extant regulations/directions in this regard, will be applicable on the
Projects.

7. The Metering Point, which is the point at which energy supplied to the Procurer shall be
measured, shall be the low voltage bus bar of the InSTS / ISTS substation at which the
power is injected in the transmission system of STU/CTU or any additional point(s) as
specified in the Bidding Document. Unless otherwise provided, the transmission of power
 up to the point of interconnection where the metering is done for energy accounting shall
be the responsibility of the BSSD at his own cost.

8. In case of RE Park, the metering point (as specified in the Bidding Document) is the final
evacuation InSTS / ISTS substation with which the internal transmission from all the
pooling substations is connected. All expenses including but not limited to transmission /
wheeling charges and losses etc. between the Project and the Metering Point shall be paid
by the BSSD without any reimbursement by the Procurer. All expenses including
‘transmission charges and losses’ (if any) and ‘wheeling charges and losses’ in relation to
the transmission and distribution beyond the Metering Point shall be borne by the
Procurers, except as provided specifically in the RfS. Arrangements shall be put in place
for billing by the RE Park Developer to the Projects/BSSDs or any other entity, as the
case may be who may in turn, recover the same directly from the Procurer.

9. For interconnection with grid and metering, availing Open Access and commercial
accounting & settlement, the BSSDs shall abide by the provisions of the CERC
Regulations/Procedure & RE connectivity procedure and the various CEA
Regulations/Standards including Grid Code, Technical Standards as issues by CEA in this
regard, Grid Connectivity Regulations, Regulations on Communication System for
transmission of electricity and other regulations (as amended from time to time) issued by
Appropriate Commission and CEA.

10. The BSSD shall comply with CERC/ SERC/ JERC regulations on Forecasting, Scheduling
and Deviation Settlement, as applicable and are responsible for all liabilities applicable in
this regard.

11. The transmission connectivity to the BSSD may be provided by the CTU/ STU, as the case
may be, prior to commissioning of the project on the request of the BSSD, to facilitate
testing and allow flow of infirm power generated into the grid, subject to existing
conditions and such application should be made within the stipulated timeline as specified
in the Applicable Regulations.

12. In case of BESS projects as transmission element, the project would planned in tandem
with transmission network, and associated RE projects. In case of delay of RE projects
associated in the associated network, the capacity charge payable to the to the BESS
provider shall be levied on the RE project developers on pro-rata basis by intermediary
procurer

F. COMPENSATION FOR OFFTAKE CONSTRAINTS

The Procurer may be constrained not to off-take the power scheduled/offered by the BSSD
on account of unavailability of the Grid or in the eventuality of a Backdown and limited to
such cases, the applicable Compensation shall be as under.

1. Offtake constraints due to Backdown

The BSSD and the Procurer shall follow the forecasting and scheduling process as per the
regulations in this regard by the Appropriate Commission. In case of BESS being a part of
 RE Projects, compensation applicable for offtake constraints due to backdown as per the
corresponding Guidelines for the respective RE Projects. In case of standalone BESS
Projects, there will not be any compensation applicable in case of offtake constraints due
to backdown.

2. Offtake constraint due to reduced offtake by the Procurer

The Procurer will mandatorily schedule for offtake of power made available as per the
availability/schedule offered by the BSSD. In case offtake by Procurer is lower than the
minimum offtake capacity declared in BSPA, the BSSD will be eligible for deemed
payment, and accordingly, the Procurer will pay 100% of the BSPA tariff to the BSSD for
the energy not off-taken below the minimum declared offtake capacity in BSPA.

G. PAYMENT SECURITY MECHANISM

The Procurer shall provide adequate payment security measures, as specified below.

1. Scenario 1: Direct Procurement by End Procurer from BSSD

The Procurer shall provide payment security to the BSSD through:

a. Revolving Letter of Credit (LC) of an amount not less than 1 (one) months’ average
billing from the Project under consideration.
AND
b. Payment Security Fund, which shall be suitable to support payment for at least 3
(three) months’ billing of all the Projects tied up with such fund.
c. As a combination of the above two mechanisms, the Procurer shall provide a total
payment security for a total of 4 months’ energy billing, out of which, LC should be
provided for a minimum period of 1 month’s energy billing.
d. In addition to payment security as per clauses (a) & (b) above, the Procurer may also
choose to provide State Government Guarantee, in a legally enforceable form,
ensuring that there is adequate security to the BSSD, both in terms of payment of energy
charges and termination compensation if any. This will not be applicable in case the
Procurer is a transmission utility or a system operator.

2. Scenario 2: Intermediary-Procurer procures from the BSSD and sells to the End
Procurer

a. Payment Security by Intermediary Procurer to the BSSD:

The Intermediary Procurer shall provide payment security to the BSSD through:
i. Revolving Letter of Credit (LC) of an amount not less than 1 (one) months’
average billing for the Project under consideration.
AND
ii. Payment Security Fund, which shall be suitable to support payment of at least
3 (three) months’ billing of all the Projects tied up with such fund. For the
purpose of this Payment Security Fund, the Intermediary Procurer will collect a
non-refundable amount of Rs. 5.0 Lacs/MWh (Rupees Five Lacs per MWh)
 from the BSSD(s) as one of the routes for strengthening the Payment Security
Mechanism pool. Such charges shall be stipulated clearly in the RfS and shall
go to the Payment Security Fund (along with accrued interest) set up by the
Government of India for such Intermediary Procurer.

b. Payment Security by End Procurer to Intermediary Procurer:

The End Procurer shall provide payment security to the Intermediary Procurer through:

i. Revolving Letter of Credit (LC) of an amount not less than 1 (one) months’
average billing for the Project(s) under consideration.
OR
ii. State Government Guarantee, in a legally enforceable form, such that there is
adequate security, both in terms of payment of energy charges and termination
compensation if any [for the purpose of this clause, the Tri-Partite Agreement
(TPA) signed between Reserve Bank of India, Central Government and State
Government shall qualify as State Government Guarantee covering the security
for payment of energy charges]. The Intermediary Procurer shall ensure that
upon invoking this guarantee, it shall at once, pass on the same to the BSSD, to
the extent the payments to the BSSD in terms of the BSPA are due. Provided
that in cases where the End Procurer is neither covered by Tri-Partite Agreement
(TPA) nor is able to provide the State Government Guarantee, the following,
shall be adopted:

In case a particular Procurer does not provide State Government Guarantee as

part of the payment security, the LC amount will be enhanced to 2.1 times the
average monthly billing.

iii. In addition to payment security as per clauses (i) & (ii) above, the End Procurer
may also choose to provide Payment Security Fund, which shall be suitable to
support payment of at least 3 (three) months’ billing of all the Projects tied up
with such fund.

It is hereby clarified that the State Government guarantee shall be invoked only after
the Intermediary Procurer has been unable to recover its dues under the BSPA by means
of the Letter of Credit and the Payment Security Fund, if any.

H. FORCE MAJEURE

1. Definition of Force Majeure

A ‘Force Majeure’ (FM) would mean one or more of the following acts, events or
circumstances or a combination of acts, events or circumstances or the consequence(s)
thereof, that wholly or partly prevents or unavoidably delays the performance by the Party
(the Affected Party) of its obligations under the relevant BSPA, but only if and to the extent
that such events or circumstances are not within the reasonable control, directly or
indirectly, of the Affected Party and could not have been avoided if the Affected Party had
taken reasonable care or complied with Prudent Utility Practices.
 a) Act of God, including, but not limited to lightning, fire and explosion (to the extent
originating from a source external to the site), earthquake, volcanic eruption,
landslide, flood, pandemic, cyclone, typhoon or tornado if it is declared / notified by
the competent state / central authority / agency (as applicable), or verified to the
satisfaction of Procurer; if a hydro power plant is a part of the package of the RE
project to be set up the bidder, then in such case drought may be considered a relevant
Force Majeure event for the hydro power plant component of the RE project.

b) Radioactive contamination or ionising radiation originating from a source in India or

resulting from another Force Majeure Event mentioned above excluding
circumstances where the source or cause of contamination or radiation is brought or
has been brought into or near the Power Project by the Affected Party or those
employed or engaged by the Affected Party.

c) The discovery of geological conditions, toxic contamination or archaeological

remains on the Project land that could not reasonably have been expected to be
discovered through an inspection of the Project land and/or as per prudent industry
practices.

d) Exceptionally adverse weather condition which are in excess of the statistical measure
of the last hundred (100) years.

e) Any act of war (whether declared or undeclared), invasion, armed conflict or act of
foreign enemy, blockade, embargo, revolution, riot, insurrection, terrorist or military
action, or Industry-wide strikes and labour disturbances, having a nationwide impact
in India.

f) Nationalisation or any compulsory acquisition by any Indian Governmental

Instrumentality/ State Government in national interest or expropriation of any material
Project assets or rights of the BSSD, as a result of which the BSSD or its shareholders
are deprived (wholly or partly) of their rights or entitlements under the BSPA.
Provided that such action does not constitute remedies or sanctions lawfully exercised
by the Procurer or any other Government Authority as a result of any breach of any of
the Applicable Laws or the Applicable Permits by the BSSD or the BSSD related
parties.

2. Force Majeure Exclusions

Force Majeure shall not include (i) any event or circumstance which is within the
reasonable control of the Parties and (ii) the following conditions, except to the extent that
they are consequences of an event of Force Majeure:
a. Unavailability, late delivery, or changes in cost of the plant, machinery, equipment,
materials, spare parts or consumables for the Power Project;
b. Delay in the performance of any contractor, sub-contractor or their agents;
c. Non-performance resulting from normal wear and tear typically experienced in
power generation materials and equipment;
d. Strikes or labour disturbances at the facilities of the Affected Party;
 e. Insufficiency of finances or funds or the agreement becoming onerous to perform;
and
f. Non-performance caused by, or connected with, the Affected Party’s: (i) Negligent
or intentional acts, errors or omissions, or lack of due diligence expected from any
prudent and rational human being; (ii) Failure to comply with an Indian Law; or
(iii) Breach of, or default under this Agreement.

3. Notification of Force Majeure Event

a) The Affected Party shall give notice to the other Party of any event of Force Majeure
as soon as reasonably practicable, but not later than fifteen (15) days after the date on
which such Party knew or should reasonably have known of the commencement of the
event of Force Majeure. If an event of Force Majeure results in a breakdown of
communications rendering it unreasonable to give notice within the applicable time
limit specified herein, then the Party claiming Force Majeure shall give such notice as
soon as reasonably practicable after reinstatement of communications, but not later than
one (1) day after such reinstatement. The Party who receives the Force Majeure
Notification, shall take a decision on the claim of occurrence of Force Majeure Event,
within 30 days of the receipt of the intimation, accompanied with supporting documents
available with the Affected Party.

b) Provided that such notice shall be a pre-condition to the Affected Party’s entitlement to
claim relief under the BSPA. Such notice shall include full particulars of the event of
Force Majeure, its effects on the Party claiming relief and the remedial measures
proposed. The Affected Party shall give the other Party regular (and not less than
weekly) reports on the progress of those remedial measures and such other information
as the other Party may reasonably request about the Force Majeure Event.

c) The Affected Party shall give notice to the other Party of (i) the cessation of the relevant
event of Force Majeure; and (ii) the cessation of the effects of such event of Force
Majeure on the performance of its rights or obligations under the BSPA, as soon as
practicable after becoming aware of each of these cessations.

4. Performance Excused
a) The Affected Party, to the extent rendered unable to perform its obligations or part of the
obligation thereof under the BSPA as a consequence of the Force Majeure Event, shall
be excused from performance of the obligations, provided that the period shall not exceed
180 (one hundred and eighty) days from the date of issuance of the FM Notice, or any
extended period as mutually agreed. The Parties may mutually agree to extend the period
for which performance is excused due to a Force Majeure Event. However, in case of the
FM continuing upto a period of 180 days or any extended period as mutually agreed,
either Party has the right to terminate the BSPA.

b) For the time period, as mutually agreed by the Parties, during which the performance
shall be excused, the BSSD shall be entitled for a day-to-day extension of the period
provided for Financial Closure or Scheduled Commissioning Period or the BSPA period,
 as the case may be. The Term of the BSPA and BSSA will be suitably extended as per
the above extension.

c) Provided always that a Party shall be excused from performance only to the extent
reasonably warranted by the Force Majeure Event.

d) Provided further that, nothing shall absolve the Affected Party from any payment
obligations accrued prior to the occurrence of the underlying Force Majeure Event.

5. No Liability for Other Losses

Save as otherwise provided in these Guidelines, no Party shall be liable in any manner,
whatsoever, to the other Parties in respect of any Loss relating to or arising out of the
occurrence or existence of any Force Majeure Event.

6. Resumption of Performance
During the period that a Force Majeure Event is subsisting, the Affected Party shall, in
consultation with the other Parties, make all reasonable efforts to limit or mitigate the
effects of such Force Majeure Event on the performance of its obligations under the BSPA.
The Affected Party shall also make efforts to resume performance of its obligations under
this Agreement as soon as possible and upon resumption, shall notify other Parties of the
same in writing. The other Party shall afford all reasonable assistance to the Affected Party
in this regard.

7. Termination Due to Force Majeure Event

a) If, prior to the completion of the 180-day period (or any extended period) for a Force
Majeure Event commencing from the date of issuance of the Force Majeure Notice, the
Parties are of the reasonable view that a Force Majeure Event is likely to continue beyond
such 180-day period or any extended period agreed in pursuance of Clause 4 above
(Performance Excused); or that it is uneconomic or impractical to restore the affected
Unit, then the Parties may mutually decide to terminate the BSPA, and the termination
shall take effect from the date on which such decision is taken.

b) Without prejudice to the provisions of Clause 7 (a) above, the Affected Party shall, after
the expiry of the period of 180 days or any other mutually extended period, be entitled to
forthwith terminate the BSPA in its sole discretion by issuing a notice to that effect.

c) On termination of the BSPA pursuant to Clause 7(b):

i. In case of termination on account of an event listed as Force Majeure as per Clauses
1. (a), (b), (c) and (d) above, no Termination Compensation shall be payable to the
BSSD.
ii. In case of termination at the instance of the BSSD, on account of an event listed as
Force Majeure as per Clauses 1. (e) and (f)above, the Procurer will have the option to
(but will not be obliged to) take-over the Project assets by paying the Debt Due. In
case the Procurer chooses not to exercise the above option, and the same is not agreed
to by the BSSD, it will result in a dispute as per the BSPA, and will be resolved as per
the Dispute Resolution mechanism under the BSPA.
 iii. The BSSD shall be eligible for undisputed payments under outstanding Monthly
Bill(s), before the occurrence of Force Majeure Event.

8. The provisions of Force Majeure contained herein above related to the BSPA affecting the
BSSD or the Intermediary Procurer, as the case may be, shall be read mutatis mutandi as
the provisions of Force Majeure under the BSSA and the Force Majeure affecting the End
Procurer under the BSSA shall be read as Force Majeure affecting the Intermediary
Procurer under the BSPA and similarly the Force Majeure affecting the BSSD under the
BSPA shall be read as Force Majeure affecting the Intermediary Procurers under the
BSSA. The BSPA and BSSA shall be construed as back-to-back agreements.

I. EVENT OF DEFAULT AND THE CONSEQUENCES THEREOF

While detailed provisions with regard to the event of default of the concerned parties and
its resulting consequences shall be detailed in the BSPA/BSSA, this clause lays down the
broad principles of contractually dealing with the default of the BSSD and the Procurers
(excluding the Intermediary Procurer).

1. BSSD Event of Default and the consequences thereof

a) In the event the BSSD fails to supply power in terms of the BSPA, or assigns or novates
any of its rights or obligations contrary to the terms of the BSPA, or repudiates the
BSPA, or effectuates a change in control or shareholding of its promoters in breach of
the provisions of the BSPA, or commits any other acts or omissions or commissions, as
laid down in the BSPA and is also unable to cure any of the aforesaid within the cure
period, as may be provided in the BSPA, the BSSD shall be construed to be in default.

b) Upon being in default, the BSSD shall pay to the Procurer, damages, equivalent to
energy payments corresponding to the declared minimum performance criteria as per
the BSPA for 6 (six) months, or balance BSPA period whichever is less, for its
contracted capacity. The Procurer shall have the right to recover the said damages by
way of forfeiture of bank guarantee, if any, without prejudice to resorting to any other
legal course or remedy.

c) In addition to the levy of damages as aforesaid, in the event of a default by the BSSD,
following sequence of events will be followed:
i. Project lenders will have the first right of substitution of the BSSD, within a
specified time period.
ii. In case the lender is unable to substitute the BSSD within the above specified
timeline, the Procurer will have the right (but will not be obliged) to takeover the
Project assets, by paying to the BSSD, a compensation as mutually decided by the
Procurer and the lender.
iii. In case the Procurer chooses not to exercise the above option, or the Procurer and
the lender are unable to come to an agreement the lenders may liquidate the Project
assets and recover their dues, as the last resort.
 2. Procurer Event of Default and the consequences thereof
a) If the Procurer is in default on account of reasons including inter-alia failure to pay the
monthly and/or supplementary bills within the stipulated time period or repudiation of
the BSPA, the defaulting Procurer shall, subject to the prior consent of the BSSD,
novate its part of the BSPA/BSSA to any third party, including its Affiliates within the
stipulated period. In this case, the Procurer shall pay amount equivalent to 3 (three)
months of energy billing based on the declared availability, or balance BSPA period,
whichever is less, for its contracted capacity, with the Project assets being retained by
the BSSD, and exit from the BSPA/BSSA. In case of direct procurement by the Procurer
from the BSSD, the above payment will be made by the Procurer to the BSSD. In case
of procurement of power through an Intermediary Procurer, the above payment will be
made by the End Procurer to the Intermediary Procurer.

b) In the event the novation of the BSPA is not acceptable to the BSSD, or if no offer of
novation of BSPA is made by the defaulting Procurer within the stipulated period, then
the BSSD may terminate the BSPA and choose to either continue operating the project
by itself finding an alternate procurer or to discontinue the operation of the project. If
the BSSD chooses to continue operating the project, the Procurer will pay to the BSSD,
‘termination compensation’ equivalent to 6 (six) months of energy billing
corresponding to the declared availability, or balance BSPA period whichever is less,
for its contracted capacity.

c) If the BSSD decides to discontinue the operation of the Project, it may require the
defaulting Procurer to make a payment of the 'termination compensation' which will be
equivalent to the amount of the Debt due and the 110% (one hundred and ten per cent)
of the Adjusted Equity, less Insurance Cover if any.

d) In the scenario of procurement by more than one Procurer through an Intermediary

Procurer under a single tender, the Intermediary Procurer may provide for suitable
provisions to deal with default by one or more Procurers under their respective BSSAs.

e) In the event of termination of BSPA, any damages or charges payable to the STU/ CTU,
for the connectivity of the plant, shall be borne by the Procurer.

Note: In all cases, the lenders may also step in where appropriate as provided in the
financing documents. Further, in all cases, the defaulting Party will be required to pay the
applicable compensation within 3 months from the due date of such payment, subsequent
to which, the defaulting Party will be required to pay a monthly interest @1% of the
compensation.

J. CHANGE IN LAW/ REGULATION

1. In these Guidelines, the term ‘Change in Law/ Regulation’ shall refer to the occurrence of
any of the following events, after the last date of the bid submission, including (i) the
enactment of any new law/ regulation; or (ii) an amendment, modification or repeal of an
existing law/ regulation; or (iii) the requirement to obtain a new consent, permit or license;
or (iv) any modification to the prevailing conditions prescribed for obtaining a consent,
 permit or license, not owing to any default of the BSSD; or (v) any change in the rates of
any Taxes, duties or cess, which have a direct effect on the Project. However, Change in
Law/ Regulation shall not include any change in taxes on corporate income or any change
in any withholding tax on income or dividends. For avoidance of any doubt, in case the
Project as well as the End Procurer are located in different States, it is clarified that for
bids where the Procurer specifies the location outside the procuring State, Change in
Law/Regulations in the host State, i.e. the State where the Project is located, will be
compensated by the Procurer as per the provisions of the BSPA/BSSA. For other cases, if
any aforementioned event is the result of action/inaction/omission/commission by the
Government of the host State, such event will not qualify for any financial compensation
under this clause. Normally, a single application will be made by the concerned Party in a
particular Contract Year, covering all the Change in Law events taking place in that year.
In an exceptional year, in case there is more than one Change in Law event taking place,
wherein the total impact on account of all such events in the year is more than 1 paise/kWh
in the BSPA tariff, more than one application can be made in such year.

2. In the event a Change in Law/ Regulation results in any adverse financial loss/ gain to the
BSSD/Procurer then, in order to ensure that the BSSD/Procurer is placed in the same
financial position as it would have been had it not been for the occurrence of the Change
in Law / Regulation, the BSSD/ Procurer shall be entitled to compensation by the other
party, as the case may be, subject to the condition that the such ‘Change in Law /
Regulation’ is recognized by the Appropriate Commission. Compensation payment on
account of such ‘Change in Law / Regulation’ shall be determined and shall be effective
from such date as may be decided by the Appropriate Commission.

3. However, for certain ‘Change in Law / Regulation’ such as change in rates of duties/ taxes/
cess/ charges/ levies, if it has already been specified in the RfS with explicit mention of
the specific name of duties/ taxes/ cess/ charges/ levies concerned, that change in rates of
such duties/ taxes/ cess/ charges/ levies will be treated as ‘Change in Law / Regulation’,
then the quantum of compensation payment on account of change in rates of such duties/
taxes/ cess/ charges/ levies shall be provided to the affected party by the other party,
without the need for any prior approval from the Appropriate Commission. In such cases,
the Appropriate Commission will be approached by the Parties for truing up of the
calculations as arrived at, for providing applicable compensation on account of such
Change in Law.

4. Compensation payable on account of Change in Law:

a. In case of Change in Law taking place prior to commissioning of the Project, the
compensation will be passed through on in the form of increase/decrease in the tariff,
linked with increase/decrease in the Project cost, which will be automatically paid
through the monthly energy billing. The pass through in this case shall be effective from
date of commissioning of the Project. The bidding documents shall contain the
appropriate formula/provision to calculate the applicable increase/decrease in the tariff.
b. In case of Change in Law taking place subsequent to commissioning of the Project
capacity, and changes in taxes/duties/cess etc. are defined as a percentage or the ratio
 of the tariff, the changes will be automatically passed on as appropriate
increment/decrement in the tariff, and will be paid through monthly energy billing.
c. In the above two cases, the pass through according to the formula stipulated in the
BSPA, will come into effect automatically after 60 days of submission of the all the
necessary documents by the affected party to substantiate its claim for relief under such
change in law event.
d. Truing up of the calculations on account of the above Change in Law events will be
done by the Appropriate Commission. In the event of any decision by the Appropriate
Commission which modifies or cancels any changes in the tariff, recovery/additional
payment of the amount already paid until then, will be done suitably.
e. In case of Change in Law during the operational period of the Project, and where such
change is not applicable as an automatic modification in the tariff, suitable
compensation will be provided as decided by the Appropriate Commission.
f. In case of Project being located in a State different than that of the End Procurer,
wherein the End Procurer has not specified the Project location, the financial risk of any
Change in Law taking place in the host State will not be borne by the End Procurer.
However, in such cases, the BSSD will be provided relief only by way of time
extensions for obligations under the BSPA and will be excused from any
penalty/liquidated damages on this account.
g. In case a Change in Law/Regulations results in delay in commissioning, where cause
and effect between these two can be clearly established, the Procurer may provide
suitable extension to financial closure and commissioning deadlines of the Project.

K. MINIMUM PAID UP SHARE CAPITAL TO BE HELD BY THE

PROMOTER

1. The successful bidder, if being a single company, shall ensure that its shareholding in the
SPV/ project company executing the BSPA shall not fall below 51% (fifty-one per cent)
at any time prior to Commercial Operation Date (COD). In the event the successful
bidder is a consortium, then the combined shareholding of the consortium members in
the SPV/ project company executing the BSPA, shall not fall below 51% at any time
prior to COD. Further, the successful bidder shall ensure that its promoters shall not cede
Control of the bidding company/consortium till the COD. In this case it shall also be
essential that the successful bidder shall provide the information about its promoters and
their shareholding to the Procurer before signing of the BSPA with Procurer.

2. Any change in the shareholding after the COD can be undertaken under intimation to
Procurer.

3. In the event the BSSD is in default to the lender(s), lenders shall be entitled to undertake
“Substitution of Promoter” in concurrence with the Procurers.

L. CONSTRUCTION & PERFORMANCE MONITORING

All grid-connected projects, covered under these Guidelines, must install necessary
equipment to continuously record the Project’s performance. The BSSD will be required to
submit this data to Appropriate Commission, Intermediary Procurer/ Procurer(s), MOP,
 MNRE, CEA, STU/CTU or any other designated agency including but not limited to RLDC
/ SLDC (as applicable), online for the entire duration of BSPA. In this regard, they shall
also mandatorily grant access to Procurer and MNRE or any other designated agency, to
the remote monitoring portal of the power plants on a 24×7 basis. Geo-tagging of the
Projects shall be mandatory.

M. ROLE OF STATE NODAL AGENCIES AND OTHER FACILITATORS

The State Nodal Agencies appointed by respective State Governments will provide
necessary support to facilitate the required approvals and sanctions in a time bound manner
so as to achieve commissioning of the projects within the scheduled timeline. This may
include facilitation in the following areas:
i. Co-ordination among various State and Central agencies for speedy
implementation of projects.
ii. Support during commissioning of projects.
 SECTION V: MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

A. DEVIATION FROM PROCESS DEFINED IN THE GUIDELINES

In case there is any deviation from these Guidelines, the same shall be subject to prior
approval by the Appropriate Government.

B. DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISM

The Government of India can issue suitable orders providing for a dispute resolution
mechanism at the Centre and request the State Government to consider such a mechanism
at the State Level. These dispute Resolution Mechanisms will be additional forums beyond
the provisions of the law and can be used by the relevant parties at their option.

C. APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS

All activities / procurement being undertaken under these Guidelines will be subject to
applicable laws and regulations of the Government, as amended from time to time.
 Appendix-1

Notes regarding timelines indicated at Clauses 1.4 and 1.5 of Section III of these
Guidelines

a) Lease/Right to use tenure should ideally be at least concurrent with Term of the BSPA.
However, lesser lease period may be allowed depending on the applicable laws in the
respective States. In such cases, failure by government entities to extend the land lease/
right to use should be included as a Force Majeure event that would require compensation
to be paid by the Procurer to the BSSD, provided the above event results in the Project not
being allowed to operate.
b) Payment schedule for payment of land lease/rental charges by the BSSD, will be clearly
specified in the RfS/BSPA documents and changes from the above schedules will not be
considered as a deviation from these Guidelines that requires approval.
c) In case of site identified by the Procurer, if a particular milestone is not within the
operational domain of the Procurer, the Procurer will on best endeavour basis, support the
facilitation in securing necessary approval from the concerned authorities within the above
timelines.
d) In case of Projects being set up in an RE Park, the timelines for fulfilment of obligations
by the RE Park Developer as identified above may be required to be aligned with the
timelines as provided in the respective RE Park Guidelines issued by the Government of
India.
e) In case of Projects being set up in an RE Park, the above timelines will form part of the
Land Lease Agreement/Right to Use Agreement to be executed between the BSSD and
Park Developer. There will be another Agreement executed between the two entities,
called as “Implementation Support Agreement (ISA)”, which will clearly specify, among
other items, roles and responsibilities of each Party of the Agreement. The facilities to be
provided by the Park developer in line with the applicable RE Park Guidelines will be
clearly identified in the above Agreement, and milestones of essential and non-essential
infrastructure activities to be undertaken, along with additional payment terms, if any, to
be indicated without any ambiguity.
f) In both the above scenarios, delay in fulfilment of any milestone under the obligation of
the Procurer/Park Developer, will result in suitable extension of BSPA signing, FC and
SCD deadlines. The same will be suitably brought out in the RfS, BSPA, ISA and Land
Lease Agreements.
g) In case of delay in payment by the BSSD towards its obligations, the respective
Agreements will stipulate the applicable liquidated damages to be levied on the BSSD.
h) In case of delay in signing of any Agreement and/or delay in making payments due to the
reasons solely attributable to the BSSD, there will not be any extension in the Project
milestones.
 Appendix-2

Technical Parameters of BESS, BESS Characterization and Performance Parameters

A. Codes and Standards

The BESS shall comply with the following Codes and Standards or equivalent Indian
Standards, as applicable.
Certification
Standard Description
Requirements
IEC 62485-2 Safety requirements for secondary Applicable only for
batteries and battery installations - to Lead Acid and NiCd /
meet requirements on safety aspects NiMH batteries
associated with the erection, use,
inspection, maintenance and disposal:
Applicable for Lead Acid and NiCd /
NiMH batteries
UL 1642 or UL 1973, Secondary cells and batteries Required for Cell
Appendix E (cell) or containing alkaline or other non-acid
electrolytes - Safety requirements for
IEC 62619 (cell) + IEC secondary lithium cells and batteries,
63056 (cell) for use in industrial applications
UL 1973 (battery) or Batteries for Use in Stationary, Either UL 1642 or
(IEC 62619 (battery) + Vehicle Auxiliary Power and Light UL1973 or (IEC
IEC 63056 (battery)) Electric Rail (LER) Applications / 62619 + IEC 63056)
Secondary cells and batteries for the Battery level
containing alkaline or other non-acid
electrolytes - Safety requirements for
secondary lithium cells and batteries,
for use in industrial applications
IEC 62281 / UN Safety of primary and secondary Required for both
lithium cells and batteries during Battery and Cell.
38.3 transport: Applicable for storage
systems using Lithium Ion
chemistries
IEC 61850/ DNP3 Communications networks and
management systems. (BESS control
system communication)
UL 9540 or (IEC TS Electrical energy storage (EES) Either UL9540 or
62933-5-1 + IEC systems - Part 5-1: Safety (IEC 62933-5-1 + IEC
62933-5-2) considerations for grid-integrated 62933-5-2) is required
EES systems – General specification / for BESS system level
Standard for Energy Storage Systems
and Equipment
 Power Conditioning Unit Standards for BESS
Bi-directional grid connected power converters - Part 1:
IEC 62909-1
General requirements

IEC 62909-2 (if Bi-directional grid-connected power converters - Part 2:

applicable) Interface of GCPC and distributed energy resources

Photovoltaic systems - Power conditioners - Procedure for

IEC 61683 Ed.1
measuring efficiency

Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) - Part 6-2: Generic

IEC 61000-6-2 Ed. 2
standards - Immunity standard for industrial environments

Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) - Part 6-4: Generic

IEC 61000-6-4 Ed. 2.1
standards - Emission standard for industrial environments

Utility-interconnected photovoltaic inverters - Test procedure

IEC 62116 Ed. 2
of islanding prevention measures

IEC 60068-2-1:2007 Environmental testing - Part 2-1: Tests - Test A: Cold

IEC 60068-2-2:2007 Environmental testing - Part 2-2: Tests - Test B: Dry heat

Environmental testing - Part 2-14: Tests - Test N: Change of

IEC 60068-2-14:2009
temperature

Environmental testing - Part 2-30: Tests - Test Db: Damp heat,

IEC 60068-2-30:2005
cyclic (12 h + 12 h cycle)

B. General Specifications
1. Identification and Traceability: Cells/Racks/Packs Assembly shall meet seismic
requirement for the plant location of the BESS. Labelling of cells/batteries shall
include manufacturer’s name, cell type, name-plate rating, date of manufacture and
date of expiry of parts and labour warranty.

2. Other Sub-systems/Components: Other subsystems/components used in the BESS

must also conform to the relevant international/national Standards for Electrical Safety
besides that for Quality required for ensuring Expected Service Life and Weather
Resistance.

3. Fire Protection: The BSSD shall design and install a fire protection system that
conforms to national and local codes. The fire protection system design and associated
alarms shall take into account that the BESS will be unattended at most times. For high
energy density technologies, the BSSD shall also obtain thermal runaway
characterization of the battery storage systems.

4. Authorized Test Centres: Batteries/ Power Conditioning Units deployed in the power
plants must have valid test certificates for their qualification as per above specified
IEC/ BIS Standards by one of the ILAC member signatory accredited laboratories. In
case of module types/ BESS/equipment for which such Test facilities may not exist in
 India at present, test certificates from reputed ILAC Member body accredited Labs
abroad will be acceptable.

5. Warranty: BSSD shall procure performance guarantees to ensure minimum

performance levels for predefined application(s) as per the terms of the RfS. The
Warranty shall clearly indicate life expectancy given discharge profiles provided for
the application.

C. Performance Monitoring
As part of the performance monitoring, the following shall be carried out:
a. The BSSD must install necessary equipment to continuously measure BESS
operating parameters (including but not limited to voltage, current, ambient
conditions etc.) as well as energy input into and energy output from the BESS along
with Metering arrangement in accordance with extant regulations. They will be
required to submit this data to the concerned authorities/organizations on line and/or
through a report on regular basis every month for the entire duration of contract.

b. The SPDs shall provide access to the concerned authorities/organisations or their

authorized representatives for installing any additional monitoring equipment to
facilitate on-line transfer of data.

c. All data shall be made available as mentioned above for the entire duration of the
Contract.

d. The plant SCADA should be OPC version 2.0a (or a later version including OPC UA)
compliant and implement appropriate OPC-DA server as per the specification of OPC
Foundation. All data should be accessible through this OPC server for providing real
time online data (BESS parameters) to the concerned authorities/organisations. This
time series data shall be available from the Project SCADA system to facilitate
monitoring and should include among others as stated before, parameters to facilitate
daily, monthly and annual report for performance monitoring.

e. Web-based monitoring should be available, which should not be machine dependent.

The web-based monitoring should provide the same screens as available in the plant.
Also, it should be possible to download reports from a remote web-client in PDF or
Excel format.
D. Safe Disposal of unit Batteries from the BESS
The Developer will comply with the requirements under Hazardous & other Waste
(Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, as amended from time to time,
as applicable. The BSSD shall ensure that all Unit Battery modules from the plant after
their ‘end of life’ (when they become defective/ non-operational/ non-repairable) are
disposed in accordance with the “e-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2016”
notified by the Government and as revised and amended from time to time and Battery
Waste Management Rules, as and when notified by the Government of India.

(Guidelines are forwarded herewith as framed by the Steering Committee constituted by

Ministry of Power to monitor and implementing a Pilot Project on Battery Energy Storage
System (BESS) and other activities, vide MOP Office Order No. 23/16/2020-R&R-(Part 1)
dated 16.07.2021)

Sr. No. Name of Committee Name of Signature

Member with Designation Organization
1 Shri B.K. Arya CEA
Member (GO&D) /
Committee Chairman
2 Shri Nitin Aggarwal, CERC
Dy. Chief (Engg.) /
Member
3 Shri KVS Baba, POSOCO
CMD /
Member
4 Shri S.R. Narasimhan, POSOCO
Dir (System Operation) /
Member Convenor
5 Shri S.K. Mishra, SECI
Director (Power System) /
Member
6 Shri Subir Sen, CTU
COO /
Member