Assam does not appear on most lists of India’s storage markets. It has no desert solar parks, no headline state battery subsidy, and a renewable base far smaller than Gujarat’s or Rajasthan’s. Yet it has two separate battery projects moving through development, both structured the same way — as joint ventures between public sector companies.
That structure tells you something about how storage reaches states that cannot simply tender and wait for private developers to show up. This is the Assam companion to our India BESS policy overview.
The problem Assam is solving
The official rationale is refreshingly direct. APDCL — Assam Power Distribution Company Limited, the state distribution utility — faces acute shortage of power during peak load hours.
Assam’s demand peaks twice, in the morning and again in the evening. Neither coincides with the middle of the day, when solar generation is at its strongest and power is cheapest. A battery closes that gap: it absorbs surplus daytime energy and releases it into the two windows when the system is short.
That is the same logic driving DISCOM peak-shaving procurement across India, and it is why states with modest renewable capacity are buying storage anyway.
Route one: the OTPC-APDCL joint venture
In January 2023, at Guwahati, OTPC (ONGC Tripura Power Company Limited) signed a memorandum of understanding with APDCL to develop a battery energy storage project of up to 250 MW / 500 MWh, in phases, in Assam. Reported investment was around ₹2,000 crore.
Rather than contract it out, the two parties incorporated a company. New and Green Energy of Assam Limited (NGEAL) is held 51:49 between OTPC and APDCL, and exists specifically to build this storage capacity. The first phase is 25 MW / 50 MWh.
The joint venture structure matters commercially. It means the offtaker owns part of the asset, which changes how the risk and the tariff are negotiated compared with a conventional build-own-operate tender.
Route two: the Namrup project
The second track is separate, with different parents.
AOGPL Oil Green Power Limited — a joint venture of APGCL (Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited) and Oil India Limited — issued a tender to appoint a consultant to prepare a pre-feasibility report and detailed project report for a 25 MW / 100 MWh battery energy storage system. Technical and price bids were due by 12:00 IST on 13 July 2026.
Useful details from that tender:
- The system may be developed standalone or integrated with the upcoming 25 MW Namrup Solar Project.
- The proposed site is within the boundary of Namrup Thermal Power Station, where sufficient land is already available — which neatly sidesteps the land acquisition problem covered in our guide to BESS land requirements.
- Bidding consultants needed prior experience on at least one storage project of 100 MWh or larger in the previous five years, with government or public sector entities.
- Final capacity may be adjusted based on technical and financial feasibility.
Note the four-hour duration implied by 25 MW / 100 MWh, against the two-hour ratio of NGEAL’s first phase. That difference reflects genuinely different jobs — we unpack why in our article on storage duration.
| Assam storage route | Vehicle | Size | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| OTPC + APDCL | NGEAL (51:49 JV) | Up to 250 MW / 500 MWh, phased | Phase 1 of 25 MW / 50 MWh defined |
| APGCL + Oil India | AOGPL Oil Green Power | 25 MW / 100 MWh | Consultancy tendered for PFR and DPR |
What this means for you
- If you are a developer or IPP: Assam is not currently a subsidy market you can bid into. The capacity is being built inside public sector joint ventures. The realistic entry points are EPC packages, equipment supply and consultancy scopes attached to those vehicles, not standalone project awards.
- If you are an equipment supplier: watch the Namrup DPR. A feasibility study specifying chemistry, duration and safety standards is where the technical requirements for the eventual procurement get set, and that happens well before a supply tender appears.
- If you are a C&I buyer in Assam: none of this is aimed at your meter. State procurement is targeting the grid’s morning and evening peaks. If you are running diesel backup or paying peak tariffs today, behind-the-meter storage is a separate decision — our peak shaving solutions page covers that case.
Assam’s storage programme is early. NGEAL’s phases are still being built out and the Namrup system is at report stage, where capacity and configuration can still change. Project structures, capacities, tender terms and incentives change by government notification and corporate decision — treat every figure here as an August 2026 snapshot and confirm current provisions with APDCL, APGCL, OTPC and Assam Energy Department documents before committing. To size storage for your own site, try our BESS savings calculator, or get in touch with our team.
Policy snapshot as of August 2026. State procurement plans, joint venture scopes and tender terms change by notification; verify current provisions with APDCL / APGCL / OTPC and Assam Energy Department documents before financial decisions.