Uttar Pradesh — India’s most populous state, with a large and peaky electricity demand — has become one of the busier battery-storage markets in the country. Its policy works in two layers: a state solar policy that encourages and part-funds storage, and a set of tenders run by state and central agencies that actually procure it. This piece walks through both in plain terms.
The state policy layer
The main framework is the Uttar Pradesh Solar Energy Policy 2022, notified by UPNEDA (the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency) and applicable up to 2027. Alongside its rooftop and utility-scale solar provisions, the policy explicitly recognises energy storage: a solar plant is a daytime resource, and the policy notes that storage is needed to move that power into evening peaks and to keep the grid stable.
To back that up, the policy offers a capital subsidy — reported at around ₹2.5 crore per MW — for utility-scale solar projects that add a four-hour battery of 5 MW or more, and for standalone battery systems that sell stored solar power to DISCOMs (distribution companies) or to UPPCL. In effect, the state policy sets the intent and puts some money on the table; the tenders below are how that intent turns into built capacity. The broader national backdrop — the Energy Storage Obligation that pushes DISCOMs to buy storage — is covered in our guide to the Energy Storage Obligation, and the all-India policy picture in our central BESS policy explainer.
Who runs the tenders
Two acronyms matter. UPPCL — Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited — is the state’s power utility and the ultimate off-taker of stored energy. UPERC — the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission — is the state regulator that reviews and approves the tariffs discovered in each auction before contracts are signed. Some tenders are also run through NVVN (NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited), the trading arm of NTPC, which aggregates demand from states and passes the power through to UPPCL.
Most of these are standalone BESS rounds: the developer builds, owns and operates the battery (a build-own-operate model), arranges its own charging power — largely from renewables — and is paid to keep the battery available, with UPPCL controlling when it discharges. Contracts run for 15 years with roughly one full charge-discharge cycle a day.
The tenders so far
Here is how the two most-cited Uttar Pradesh rounds have shaped up.
- UPPCL 375 MW / 1,500 MWh: a state tender to procure power from 1.5 GWh of standalone storage, concluded in 2026. It discovered tariffs of about ₹6.45 to ₹6.46 per kWh, with KCC Buildcon taking the largest slice (about 187.5 MW), and Agastya Energy and MKC winning the rest. These projects are eligible for central financial support.
- NVVN 250 MW / 1,000 MWh at Garautha, Jhansi: run through NVVN under the central VGF scheme and sited at the Garautha substation. Bidding in mid-2025 discovered roughly ₹6.64 to ₹6.65 per kWh (Sunsure Energy and Enerica Infra), and NVVN filed with UPERC (petition 2295 of 2025) for tariff approval, agreeing to a flat 7 paise per kWh trading margin.
For a running list of what is live across states, see our tender tracker; these auctions are, in effect, how Uttar Pradesh’s DISCOMs will meet their storage obligation.
Why the tariffs work: the VGF link
Uttar Pradesh’s numbers lean 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 scheme (a ₹5,400 crore outlay approved in 2025), VGF is pegged at about ₹18 lakh per MWh, and Uttar Pradesh is among the roughly 15 states named to receive an allocation. How that grant is structured is explained in our VGF scheme deep-dive. Note that the exact MWh earmarked for UP has not been published in the same detail as the top-tier states, so treat any single UP allocation figure with caution.
What this means for you
If you are a developer, Uttar Pradesh is now a genuine standalone-BESS market: sizeable tenders from UPPCL and NVVN, a clear UPERC approval path, and VGF stacked on top — though its cleared tariffs (around ₹6.45 to ₹6.65 per kWh) currently sit above the lowest capacity-charge rounds seen in Gujarat and Rajasthan, reflecting siting and charging-power differences. If you are a DISCOM or a large industrial buyer, these tariffs are a useful local benchmark. Alpha Devraj ESS builds and integrates the standalone BESS blocks these tenders call for, and can help size a project against UP’s numbers using our savings calculator.
One caution: tender terms, VGF caps and policy provisions all change by notification, so treat the figures above as a snapshot and confirm the live RfS before committing.
Policy snapshot as of July 2026. Terms change by notification; verify current provisions before financial decisions.