Gujarat is where a lot of India’s battery-storage story is actually being written. As the home state and home grid of Alpha Devraj ESS, it is also the market we watch most closely — and the one that has run more standalone-BESS auctions, more often, than almost anyone else. The policy sits in two layers: a state renewable-energy framework that allows and encourages storage, and GUVNL’s tender programme that actually procures it. This piece walks through both in plain terms.
The state policy layer
Gujarat’s renewable-energy policy — first the Gujarat Renewable Energy Policy 2023, now updated into an Integrated Renewable Energy Policy — sets the direction. The 2023 version carved out a block of capacity for hydro, pumped storage and battery storage together, and the newer framework goes further: it explicitly allows both co-located BESS (a battery built alongside a solar or wind plant) and standalone BESS (a battery sold to the grid as a pure storage service), and points storage toward ancillary services and emerging capacity markets. The state has set headline targets in the region of 100 GW-plus of renewables and tens of GWh of storage over the coming decade.
Two acronyms matter here. GERC — the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission — is the state regulator that approves the tariffs discovered in each auction before contracts are signed. And the Energy Storage Obligation (ESO), a central mandate the states adopt, requires DISCOMs (distribution companies) to source a rising share of their power through storage. We unpack that separately in our guide to the Energy Storage Obligation; Gujarat’s tenders are, in effect, how its DISCOMs meet it.
GUVNL: the workhorse of the programme
The real action is at GUVNL — Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited, the state’s holding utility. GUVNL runs standalone-BESS tenders in numbered phases, and it has kept them coming. Each tender uses tariff-based competitive bidding: developers build, own and operate the battery (a build-own-operate model) and are paid a capacity charge — a fixed rent, quoted in rupees per MW per month, for keeping the battery available. GUVNL then dispatches it through the State Load Dispatch Centre to shave peaks and firm up supply for the DISCOMs.
Here is roughly how the recent phases have progressed:
- Phase VI procured 500 MW / 1,000 MWh, won by developers including Solarworld Energy Solutions and H.G. Infra Engineering.
- Phase VII was much larger — a 2,000 MW / 4,000 MWh (2 GW, two-hour) round. GERC approved the discovered capacity charges in the range of roughly ₹1.85 lakh to ₹1.89 lakh per MW per month (about $2,220–$2,268/MW/month), among the lowest seen in India. Winners spanned Sun Drops Energia, Engie, Ultimate Flexipack and several mid-size developers.
- Phase IX is the current round: a 450 MW / 900 MWh tender spread across roughly ten substations, floated in mid-2026, with bids due around mid-July 2026.
For a fuller running list of what is open, our tender tracker and dedicated GUVNL tender guide go phase by phase.
Why the tariffs are so low: the VGF link
Gujarat’s headline numbers are not magic — they lean heavily on central Viability Gap Funding (VGF), a one-time capital grant that fills the gap between what a battery costs and what a DISCOM can afford to pay. Under the expanded 30 GWh national VGF scheme, support is fixed at about ₹18 lakh per MWh of battery capacity (capped at a share of project cost), and Gujarat was one of the largest state beneficiaries — reported at around 4,000 MWh of allocation alongside Rajasthan and Maharashtra. GUVNL’s recent phases, including Phase IX, are structured on top of this grant, which is precisely why the capacity charges clear so low. The mechanics of that grant are explained in our VGF scheme deep-dive.
What this means for you
If you are a developer, Gujarat is arguably the most active standalone-BESS market in the country: frequent phases, a predictable GERC approval path, and VGF stacked on top. If you are a DISCOM or an industrial buyer, the tariffs Gujarat has discovered are a useful benchmark for what modern two-hour storage should cost. And because this is Alpha Devraj ESS’s home grid, we build and integrate the standalone BESS blocks that these tenders call for, close to where they are deployed.
One caution: tender phases, VGF caps and policy terms all change by notification, so treat the figures above as a snapshot and confirm the live RfS before committing. To size a project against current Gujarat tariffs — or to talk through a specific tender — get in touch with our team.
Policy snapshot as of July 2026. Terms change by notification; verify current provisions before financial decisions.