Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has adopted and approved the tariff associated with the ISTS-TBCB scheme being developed by project SPV “Powergrid Mahan Rewa Transmission Ltd,” a wholly-owned subsidiary of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL).
In a very recent order, CERC adopted and approved the annual transmission charges (tariff) of Rs.1010.34 million discovered through the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) process.
The ISTS scheme being developed under the said project SPV (earlier known as MEL Transmission Ltd) is formally termed as “Transmission system for evacuation of power from Mahan Energen Ltd generation station in Madhya Pradesh.” PGCIL received the letter of intent for this scheme on April 1, 2025 and the project SPV was formally acquired in June 2025. (Read tndindia.com story dated June 6, 2025 for project scope)
Delay in tariff adoption
It may be mentioned that there has been significant delay in the tariff adoption process, which typically takes place within a few months of the SPV transfer. CERC had reserved the order relating to tariff adoption as there was repeated delay in receiving inputs from one of the respondents in the petition.
Transmission licence
While CERC has adopted and approved the tariff in its recent order, it is subject to receipt of transmission licence. Meanwhile, CERC, in its order dated July 21, 2026, granted interim transmission licence and is expected to take up the final transmission licence petition for hearing soon. Currently, the petitioner (Powergrid Mahan Rewa Transmission Ltd) has issued public notice seeking objections/suggestions from the public regarding grant of transmission licence.
The bidding process
Four bidders – PGCIL, Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL), Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) and G R Infraprojects Ltd (GRIL) – qualified for opening of initial price bids and all the four proceeded to the e-reverse auction stage. PGCIL was L1, even in terms of its initial price bid of Rs.1253.50 million. During the 86 rounds of the e-RA, in which GRIL did not participate, PGCIL downwardly revised its initial bid by nearly 20 per cent to Rs.1010.34 million – the winning tariff.
Higher than benchmark
It is interesting to note that the final tariff discovered under TBCB was 12.1 per cent higher than the benchmark tariff worked out as per CERC norms. In response to this situation, PFC Consulting Ltd (PFCCL), in its affidavit submitted the reasons of higher transmission charges discovered under the TBCB process. The scope of the project includes nearly 150 km of 400kV double-circuit line from Mahan generation station to PGCIL’s existing Rewa pooling substation (PS). Nearly 65 per cent of this route is undulated (of uneven terrain) due to which 40 per cent more angle towers will need to be erected. Second, this line also has a 21.8-km stretch that passes through reserved forest area. This will lead to reduction in standard tower span from 400m to 300m, resulting in more number of towers required. It is also expected that significant RoW-related issues will be encountered in the densely populated Singrauli area, leading to higher project costs.
Current status
According to a latest report by Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the Mahan Rewa project is under execution and is expected to commission by its scheduled date of December 2027. Of the 325 tower foundations associated with the 400kV double-circuit Mahan-Rewa line, 120 foundations were completed as of August 31, 2026. The stringing achievement stood at 74 ckm out of the total 288 ckm. The project was contending with RoW issues related to three tower foundation locations – all in Singrauli. Forest and wildlife area-related clearances were awaited, as of given date.
Restructuring of project SPV
It may be noted that Powergrid Mahan Rewa Transmission Ltd has since been merged with another TBCB subsidiary of PGCIL, namely Powergrid Ghiror Transmission Ltd, as part of a major SPV restructuring exercise recently carried out by PGCIL. (Read tndindia.com story dated July 23, 2026 for more details.)
Featured photograph is for representation only