The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has extended the deadline for private investors to submit bids for Sri Lanka’s first grid-scale battery storage project to October 14, 2025, a move designed to secure wider investor participation for the planned 640MWh rollout.
CEB pushes tender to Oct 14, 2025 for island-wide 640MWh grid battery storage project
The Ceylon Electricity Board announced an extension to the tender deadline for the country’s first grid-scale battery energy storage project, moving the submission date from September 10 to October 14, 2025. The programme envisages installing 10MW/40MWh battery systems at ten locations around the island, yielding a total storage capacity of 640MWh. The CEB will grant successful bidders a 15-year concession to operate the facilities.
CEB officials said the extension aims to attract a broader range of private investors and provide additional time for technical and commercial proposals to be finalised. The project is being positioned as a strategic response to the rising penetration of variable renewable generation, particularly rooftop solar, which has outpaced earlier planning assumptions and created new operational challenges for system stability. By adding large-scale battery storage, the grid can better smooth intermittent output and reduce the risk of cascading outages.
The planned 10MW/40MWh units are intended to provide short-duration grid services including frequency support, peak-shaving and fast-response balancing. In practical terms, a dispersed battery storage footprint of 640MWh gives system operators more tools to absorb sudden swings in solar generation and to bridge short gaps between supply and demand. The 15-year concession model signals the CEB’s willingness to partner with private capital and operational expertise while retaining strategic oversight.
Market observers say the deadline extension could encourage participation from both regional and international developers, who may require extra time to submit competitive technical and price proposals for a project of this scale. The tender follows earlier government and utility initiatives aimed at accelerating grid modernisation and integrating higher shares of renewables while maintaining reliability.
As Sri Lanka prepares to integrate large volumes of renewable energy, the success of this battery storage tender will be a key indicator of how quickly private investment can be mobilised for grid stabilisation projects. The CEB will now evaluate submissions after October 14, and the outcome will shape the country’s near-term strategy for managing rooftop solar growth and reducing operational risk on the transmission network.