Odisha does not yet run a big, headline battery-subsidy scheme the way Gujarat or Rajasthan do. Its storage push instead flows through GRIDCO — Grid Corporation of Odisha, the state’s single bulk-power buyer — which signs long-term contracts on behalf of the four Tata Power distribution companies (DISCOMs) that supply the state. So the honest answer to “what is Odisha’s BESS policy” is: a supportive renewable policy that names storage as a priority, plus a set of GRIDCO tenders that turn that intent into real megawatt-hours, all cleared by the state regulator. This is the Odisha-specific companion to our India BESS policy overview.
The policy backdrop: Renewable Energy Policy 2022
Odisha’s guiding document is its Renewable Energy Policy 2022, notified by the state Energy Department. It does not create a dedicated standalone-battery grant, but it does two useful things for storage.
- It explicitly prioritises hybrid renewable projects — combinations such as solar or floating solar paired with battery storage — for the allocation of land, water bodies and state transmission (STU) connectivity. In other words, if your project bundles a battery with generation, it moves up the queue.
- It frames the state’s Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) and, following the Ministry of Power’s July 2022 order, an Energy Storage Obligation (ESO) — the rule that a rising share of power must be time-shifted through storage. The state regulator has signalled it will amend its RPO regulations in line with that central order.
That national storage-mandate mechanism is worth understanding on its own; we cover it in the energy storage obligation explainer.
The procurement: two GRIDCO tenders
Policy only matters once it is procured, and Odisha has moved on two tracks.
Track one — a large, technology-agnostic requirement. In March 2024, GRIDCO launched a tender for 500 MW / 2,500 MWh of energy storage able to support a five-hour evening peak for five years. Crucially it was technology-agnostic — battery storage, pumped hydro or anything else could bid — and used tariff-based competitive bidding followed by an e-reverse auction, with supply meant to begin from April 2026. This is the “keep the lights on after sunset” procurement.
Track two — a dedicated standalone BESS tender via SECI. Separately, GRIDCO engaged SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India) to run a standalone battery tender of 125 MW / 500 MWh (four-hour) split across six projects — five of 20 MW/80 MWh and one of 25 MW/100 MWh. These are on a build-own-operate (BOO) model under a battery energy storage purchase agreement, where developers keep the asset available for GRIDCO to charge and discharge on demand.
| Odisha storage procurement | Type | Size | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| GRIDCO tender (2024) | Technology-agnostic | 500 MW / 2,500 MWh | 5-hour evening peak; reverse auction |
| SECI-run for GRIDCO | Standalone BESS | 125 MW / 500 MWh | BOO model; 6 projects; VGF-eligible |
The OERC angle
The Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) is the gatekeeper: GRIDCO cannot commit to a long-term storage contract without the regulator approving the discovered price and the pass-through to DISCOM tariffs. For the 125 MW/500 MWh standalone tranche, the OERC approved discovered tariffs reported in the range of roughly ₹3.04 lakh to ₹3.54 lakh per MW per month for a 15-year contract. Those levels are in the same ballpark as recent standalone tenders elsewhere, though higher than the aggressive prices seen in Rajasthan’s tenders.
On the funding side, the standalone projects were reported as eligible for central Viability Gap Funding (VGF) — a capital grant delivered through the Power System Development Fund — which lowers the upfront cost and helps the bid price come down. The mechanics of that grant are the same national scheme covered in our VGF explainer.
The DISCOM picture
Odisha is unusual in that all four of its distribution companies — TPCODL (central), TPWODL (western), TPSODL (southern) and TPNODL (northern) — are now Tata Power joint ventures, with GRIDCO buying bulk power on their collective behalf. That centralised buyer model is why storage procurement in Odisha runs mostly through GRIDCO rather than through four separate DISCOM tenders — a cleaner structure than many states, and one reason storage-firmed evening supply can be scaled across the whole state at once. For utilities trying to flatten their own evening peak, the underlying logic is the same as any peak-shaving deployment.
What this means for you
- If you are a developer or IPP: Odisha’s opportunity is procured, not subsidy-driven — win a GRIDCO or SECI-run tender and you have a long-dated, regulator-approved offtake. Note the two very different products: a technology-agnostic five-hour requirement and a four-hour standalone BESS block, which suit different assets.
- If you are a DISCOM or bulk buyer: the GRIDCO model shows how a single buyer can aggregate storage demand across an entire state; a standalone BESS contracted on a BOO basis keeps the asset off your balance sheet while giving you dispatchable evening capacity.
- If you are a C&I (commercial and industrial) buyer in Odisha: the RE Policy 2022’s priority for hybrid solar-plus-storage projects can ease land and connectivity approvals — worth factoring into any captive plan.
Odisha’s dedicated battery programme is still early-stage: tender sizes, tariffs and eligibility are being set order-by-order, and terms change by notification. Treat every figure here as a July 2026 snapshot and confirm current provisions with GRIDCO, SECI and OERC documents before committing. To size what storage could do on your own Odisha site, or to talk options with our team, try our BESS savings calculator or get in touch.
Policy snapshot as of July 2026. State policy, tender terms, discovered tariffs and VGF eligibility change by government notification; verify current provisions with GRIDCO / OERC / SECI / Ministry of Power documents before financial decisions.