GETCO Floats PMC Tender of 5 MW/2.5 MWh AGC-Enabled BESS

Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited (GETCO) has invited bids to appoint a Project Management Consultant (PMC) for a pilot battery energy storage system designed to demonstrate Automatic Generation Control (AGC)-enabled grid operations in Gujarat. The consultancy procurement is intended to provide technical and project-execution support for implementing the pilot, with GETCO seeking a specialist capable of supporting the integration of BESS with grid-control requirements.

GETCO has floated Tender No. ACE (P&C)/TN-13/26-27 for appointing the consultant through a Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) process. The assignment covers technical assistance for the execution of an AGC-enabled 5 MW/2.5 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) pilot project in Vadodara, Gujarat.

The tender, identified as E-3121, is currently open for bidding, with the deadline for submission set for September 28, 2026, at 5:00 PM. The tender was published on September 8, according to available tender records.

Unlike a conventional BESS tender where the utility selects a developer to design, supply and commission a storage system, GETCO’s present procurement is focused on project management and technical consultancy services.

The selected consultant will provide comprehensive project management consultancy and technical assistance for implementing the AGC-enabled BESS pilot.

The tender description specifies the assignment as:

Project: AGC-enabled BESS pilot project
BESS capacity: 5 MW/2.5 MWh
Location: Vadodara, Gujarat
Consultancy model: Project Management Consultant
Selection method: QCBS
Tender reference: E-3121
Tender No.: ACE (P&C)/TN-13/26-27
Bid deadline: September 28, 2026, 5:00 PM
Tender document fee: ₹1,180
EMD: ₹40,000
Estimated tender value: As per tender documents

The significance of the project lies not simply in its 2.5 MWh storage capacity, but in its proposed integration with Automatic Generation Control.

AGC is used in power systems to automatically regulate generation in response to changing system conditions and help maintain grid parameters such as frequency and generation-load balance.

An AGC-enabled BESS can therefore be used as a fast-response resource, allowing stored energy to be charged or discharged based on grid requirements.

For Gujarat, such a pilot can provide practical experience in integrating battery storage with grid-control mechanisms as the state’s renewable generation base expands.

The project also sits within a broader shift in India’s power sector, where BESS is increasingly being considered not only for energy shifting but also for grid flexibility, balancing and ancillary services.

GETCO’s tender calls for comprehensive PMC services and technical assistance for execution of the pilot project. The available tender description specifies that the consultant will provide support for the AGC-enabled BESS pilot, with the detailed scope contained in the Request for Proposal and associated tender documents.

This makes the consultancy particularly relevant for engineering and technical firms with experience across BESS, grid integration, power-system studies, AGC, controls and project management.

The tender documentation listed with the procurement includes the PMC RFP for the AGC BESS, along with commercial terms and conditions, a schedule document, purchase-agreement format and GETCO’s bank-guarantee formats.

The procurement is structured as an online tender and is being issued through the n-Procure portal. Tender records identify GETCO as the issuing authority and Vadodara as the project location.

The ₹40,000 EMD and ₹1,180 non-refundable document fee have been listed in the tender records. The estimated contract value is not stated as a fixed amount in the publicly available tender summary and is instead referred to in the tender documents.

At 5 MW/2.5 MWh, the pilot is modest compared with India’s rapidly expanding utility-scale BESS tenders. Its importance, however, is linked to what the project is intended to demonstrate.

The combination of battery storage and AGC points towards a future in which BESS can become an active grid-control resource rather than simply a facility used to store electricity and shift it from one period to another.

For GETCO, the pilot could provide operational and technical experience in coordinating fast-response storage with grid requirements. The learnings could become particularly relevant as Gujarat continues integrating large volumes of variable renewable generation and requires more flexible resources to maintain system reliability.

The immediate procurement is therefore for a consultant—not for the BESS developer itself—but the underlying 5 MW/2.5 MWh pilot could offer an important test case for how battery storage can participate in automated grid balancing in Gujarat.

The GETCO AGC-Enabled BESS pilot is significant beyond its relatively modest 5 MW/2.5 MWh size, as it will explore how battery storage can support automated grid management and faster system response. As Gujarat continues to integrate renewable generation, such projects can provide practical experience in using storage as a flexible grid resource and help inform the deployment of larger, grid-connected storage systems in the future.