Bid process coordinator REC Power Development & Consultancy Ltd (RECPDCL) has incorporated a project special purpose vehicle (SPV) associated with an ISTS-TBCB scheme for evacuation of RE power from Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh.
In a stock exchange communication, REC Ltd, the holding company of RECPDCL said that the project SPV “Rajgarh III Power Transmission Ltd” was incorporated on December 24, 2024, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of RECPDCL.
The SPV is meant for development of an interstate transmission system (ISTS) scheme known as “Transmission system for evacuation of power from RE projects in Rajgarh (1,500 MW) SEZ in Madhya Pradesh-Phase III” where the developer will be selected using the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) route.
Recently cleared by National Committee on Transmission (NCT) and for which bidding has yet to begin, this scheme has an estimated cost of Rs.1,079 crore and an implementation period of 24 months.
The project mainly involves augmentation of transformation capacity at the Pachora pooling station (PS) in Madhya Pradesh and putting up a 400kV double-circuit line connecting the Pachora PS to the Rajgarh substation of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL). This apart, there will be new bus sections and line bays at the Pachora and Rajgarh substations.
Transformation capacity of the Pachora PS will be augmented by the addition of three 400/220kV interconnecting transformers (ICT), taking the total number of such ICTs at the pooling station to nine.
The main objective of the scheme is to facilitate evacuation of 1,500 MW (above the existing 2,500 MW) at the Pachora PS, making a total of 4,000 MW.
Build-up of Pachora Pooling Station
This is the third phase in the development and augmentation of the Pachora PS in Madhya Pradesh.
Under Phase-I of 1.5 GW, the greenfield Pachora PS was established with 3×500 MVA, 400/220kV ICTs. Phase-I, developed by a “Rajgarh Transmission Ltd,” a TBCB subsidiary of G R Infraprojects Ltd, was commissioned in April 2024.
Under Phase-II of 1 GW, the Pachora PS is being augmented by putting up three more ICTs of 500 MVA, 400/220kV along with a 400kV double-circuit line connecting Pachora PS to the Ujjain substation of Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Company Ltd (MPPTCL). This project housed under “Pachora Power Transmission Ltd,” also a TBCB subsidiary of G R Infraprojects Ltd, is currently under construction with scheduled commissioning date of February 2026.
After Phase-III is commissioned, the total evacuation capacity of the Pachora PS will stand enhanced to 4 GW (or 4,000 MW), and the pooling stations will have connections with existing substations of Bhopal (PGCIL), Ujjain (MPPTCL) and Rajgarh (PGCIL).
Also read: SPV incorporated for Ratle and Kiru hydropower evacuation schemes
Featured photograph (source: G R Infraprojects Ltd) shows an element of the ISTS scheme commissioned by Rajgarh Transmission Ltd, a TBCB subsidiary of G R Infraprojects Ltd.