Lowest TANGEDCO Tender Bid At 4.40 INR/kWh

• TANGEDCO of Tamil Nadu has received the lowest solar tariff of 4.40 INR ($0.0657) per kWh for the 500 MW tender it issued in January 2017
• The utility had set the benchmark tariff of 4.50 INR ($0.0672)
• The lowest tariff received is for 100 MW capacity, offered by a Tirunelveli based firm
• The tender was launched after the previous 500 MW tender issued by TANGEDCO did not receive good response from developers
• Letter of Intent for this tender is scheduled to be issued on April 17, 2017

The solar power tariffs for the 500 MW capacity issued in Tamil Nadu have gone down to 4.40 INR ($0.0657) per kWh. This is below the 4.50 INR ($0.0672) benchmark set by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Cooperation (TANGEDCO) that invited the bids in January 2017.

The agency had floated a tender for 500 MW capacity in October 2016, but received only a very tepid response – 20 bids for a total capacity of 116 MW (see Tamil Nadu Tender Receives Unenthusiastic Response). For that tender, the upper tariff limit was 5.10 INR ($0.075) per kWh.

As the agency needs to fulfil its renewable purchase obligation (RPO), it launched a new 500 MW tender (see Another 500 MW Solar Tender In Tamil Nadu). Price bids were opened on February 18, 2017. The lowest price of 4.40 INR per kWh was offered by a Tirunelveli based firm to set up 100 MW capacity, reported The Hindu, a daily newspaper from India. No details were revealed on the winners.

On April 17, 2017, the bids will be evaluated and letters of intent (LOI) issued.