Rooftop solar system bid framework becomes tougher under SECI RESCO model
Rooftop solar system procurement under this SECI tender is structured less like a simple EPC package and more like a long-duration risk transfer model. SECI has issued an RfS for 4455 kW rooftop solar PV projects under RESCO mode across 14 government-linked campuses, with developers carrying design, supply, installation, commissioning, grid connectivity, net-metering, and 25-year O&M responsibility.
The key commercial issue is how much sits on the developer before revenue certainty begins. EMD is mandatory, PBG is linked to category-wise per kW values, and service charges are payable upfront in two tranches. The tender also fixes a tariff ceiling of Rs 5.00 per kWh. That makes this Rooftop solar system package notable for cashflow pressure as much as for project size. The grid side is equally important. Approval, interconnection, compliance with CEA or SERC or DISCOM norms, and even transmission loss exposure sit with the SPD.
The 90-day net-metering deadline is the sharpest clause in the structure. If approvals are not secured in that window after PPA signing, the contract can move toward termination and PBG encashment. For developers active in Grid connected solar system and Solar power projects, that is a serious regulatory timing risk. SECI has also tied CUF commitments to penalty-linked shortfall enforcement, tightening performance obligations over the full operating period.EnergylineIndia.com tracks such tender design because Rooftop solar system bids increasingly reveal whether policy support is reducing risk or merely relocating it. Here, Rooftop solar system execution risk is clearly being transferred almost in full to the private developer.
