Serbia’s state-owned power utility EPS has once again canceled a tender for supervision and consulting services related to its large-scale self-balancing solar energy project after determining that neither of the submitted bids met the required procurement conditions.
The contract, valued at approximately €5.5 million, covered oversight services for the construction of solar power plants and battery storage systems planned across multiple municipalities in Serbia. The tender attracted two consortiums: one led by New Energy Solutions and another headed by Energoprojekt Entel.
EPS rejected the lower bid submitted by the New Energy Solutions consortium, valued at €5.1 million excluding VAT, stating that it failed to sufficiently demonstrate required experience in preparing technical documentation for energy projects exceeding 100 MW. The dispute focused on references linked to the Cibuk 2 wind farm, with EPS questioning whether the consortium had directly produced the relevant technical documentation, despite confirmation from the project owner that a contract existed.
The second consortium, led by Energoprojekt Entel, submitted a bid of around €5.5 million excluding VAT. While EPS acknowledged that this group met the professional qualification criteria, its offer was ultimately rejected due to a bid guarantee that did not comply with tender rules, specifically an insufficient validity period.
As neither offer satisfied all procurement requirements, the utility confirmed that the procedure could not proceed to evaluation or contract award. This marks the second cancellation of the same tender, which had previously been suspended in mid-2025 under similar circumstances.
The supervision contract is part of Serbia’s broader renewable energy initiative developed in partnership with a consortium of Hyundai Engineering and UGT Renewables. The project includes plans for 1 GW of solar capacity and battery storage systems totaling 200 MW / 400 MWh, with solar plants planned across Negotin, Zaječar, Lebane, Leskovac, Bujanovac, and Odžaci. Completion is targeted for 2028 under a turnkey delivery model that also includes supporting infrastructure.
