Oriana Power wins ₹3,870 crore MSEDCL BESS order for 900 MW

What Oriana Power has announced

Oriana Power Ltd. informed the NSE that it has received two Letters of Award (LoAs) from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) to set up Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in Maharashtra. The combined capacity under the two awards is 900 MW / 1,800 MWh. The company disclosed an aggregate project value of approximately ₹3,870 crore, excluding GST, over the contract period. Both projects are structured under 15-year Battery Energy Storage Purchase Agreements (BESPAs), starting from their respective commercial operation dates. The LoAs are dated 18 September 2026, according to the filing.

Size of the mandate in MSEDCL’s tender

MSEDCL’s total tendered capacity was 2,000 MW / 4,000 MWh. Oriana Power said it secured 45% of this tendered capacity through the two awards. The allocation is split into two separate projects - one for 500 MW/1,000 MWh and another for 400 MW/800 MWh - spread across substations in Maharashtra. The awards were concluded via an e-reverse auction. The bidding route was described as tariff-based and globally competitive.

Award 1: 500 MW/1,000 MWh at MSETCL substations

One of the two awards covers a 500 MW / 1,000 MWh BESS project at MSETCL substations. The tariff disclosed for this allocation is ₹2,38,000 per MW per month. Oriana Power said the 15-year value for this portion is about ₹2,142 crore, excluding GST. The company also provided an annualised equivalent of roughly ₹142.80 crore a year. As with the overall programme, the operating framework is based on a 15-year BESPA starting from the commercial operation date.

Award 2: 400 MW/800 MWh at MSEDCL substations

The second LoA is for 400 MW / 800 MWh, tied to MSEDCL substations. The tariff for this allocation is ₹2,40,000 per MW per month. Oriana Power said this translates to about ₹1,728 crore over 15 years, excluding GST. The filing also translates this to roughly ₹115.20 crore annually. Together with the 500 MW project, this brings the disclosed total to around ₹3,870 crore over the full 15-year horizon.

How the tender was awarded

The company said the contracts were awarded through an e-reverse auction process. The procurement framework is tariff-based and described as globally competitive. The project is supported by Viability Gap Funding (VGF) under the Central Government’s Power System Development Fund (PSDF) scheme. The VGF feature is relevant for storage projects because it can bridge a portion of upfront project cost, helping bring tariffs to levels acceptable to offtakers.

Funding support: expected viability gap funding

On funding, Oriana Power said it anticipates ₹324 crore in VGF, based on current project cost assessments. The company did not disclose project-wise VGF splits in the provided information. It also did not disclose the final capex or financing structure for the two projects in the same note. The VGF figure is presented as an expectation based on current cost estimates, rather than a final sanctioned amount.

Contract structure and what is pending

The company said the projects will operate under a 15-year BESPA framework starting from commercial operation dates. However, it also stated that the BESPAs are yet to be signed. As a result, commissioning dates will follow those agreements. This sequencing matters because, in storage contracts, the effective date and COD-linked obligations are typically defined in the signed BESPA, not the LoA. Investors tracking execution timelines may therefore look for the signing of the BESPAs as the next concrete milestone.

Key facts at a glance

Related-party clarification

Oriana Power also stated that its promoters have no interest in MSEDCL. It clarified that the LoAs are not related-party transactions. Such disclosures are typically watched closely in large utility-linked awards to assess governance and transaction independence.

Company context: where BESS fits for Oriana Power

Oriana Power said it specialises in providing solar energy solutions to industrial and commercial customers through on-site and off-site solar projects. It operates across Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Operation segments. In the provided background, the company also disclosed that it entered the BESS sector in 2024. Separately, the material included references to Oriana’s stated longer-term ambition to increase BESS deployment targets to about 20 GWh by 2030 from about 3.5 GWh, with a mix across EPC, build-own-operate, and recycling-mode development. The same material also referenced 800+ MWh projects won and under execution and a pipeline of 2,000+ MWh.

Why this development matters for the storage market

The MSEDCL awards are notable because they represent a large share of a single state utility tender - 45% of 2,000 MW/4,000 MWh tendered capacity, as stated by the company. The 15-year contracting structure signals long-tenor offtake arrangements for grid-scale storage, which can support project bankability when paired with VGF under PSDF. The tariff disclosure in ₹ per MW per month provides a benchmark for how such storage capacity is being priced through reverse auctions. For Maharashtra’s grid, these BESS assets are intended to be deployed across substations, which typically links storage dispatch to distribution-side requirements.

What to watch next

The company has said the BESPAs are yet to be signed, and commissioning timelines will follow those agreements. Market participants will therefore monitor the BESPA signing, finalisation of VGF support, and any subsequent disclosures on project schedules and execution plans. Any updates on commercial operation dates would also clarify when the 15-year operating period starts for each project.