CERC grants interim transmission licence to NERGS-III Siang Basin ISTS scheme
- October 1, 2026
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has granted interim transmission licence to “NERGS III Siang Basin Transmission Ltd,” a TBCB subsidiary of Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon Pvt Ltd (DRAIPL).
In a very recent order, CERC granted interim transmission licence and has directed the petitioner NERGS III Siang Basin Transmission Ltd to file a public notice seeking suggestions/objections towards the grant transmission licence.
Response to the public notice, if any, should be placed before CERC by October 9, 2026, the order said. The matter will come up for hearing next on October 13, 2026.
Meanwhile, in a separate order, CERC has also approved and adopted the transmission charges (tariff) of Rs.4376.66 million per year, associated with the project.
DRAIPL acquired project SPV “NERGS III Siang Basin Transmission Ltd” on May 26, 2026, by emerging winner under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) mechanism. The underlying ISTS scheme is termed as “North Eastern Region Generation Scheme (NERGS)-III, Siang Basin” and is taking shape across the two adjacent states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
Project objective
The NERGS-III scheme seeks to provide ISTS connectivity to two upcoming hydropower projects of Neepco Ltd – Heo (240 MW) and Tato-I (186 MW) – both in Arunachal Pradesh. The two hydropower schemes, currently under construction, are expected to turn operational by February 2029.
Project details
The project envisages two greenfield assets — a 400/220kV GIS substation at Kaying and a 400kV switching station at Niglok – both in Arunachal Pradesh. The two will be connected via a 400kV double-circuit (quad) line, running around 200 ckm. Niglok will also be connected to the upcoming 400/220/132kV Gogamukh substation via a 400kV double-circuit (quad) line of about 250 ckm.
Part of the project scope also involves extending the Gogamukh substation by adding two 400kV line bays, meant for the 400kV double-circuit Niglok-Gogamukh line.
The Gogamukh substation, which will be the ISTS connection point for the NERGS-III scheme, is coming up through a separate ISTS-TBCB scheme “NERES XVI Power Transmission Ltd,” a TBCB subsidiary of Techno Electric & Engineering Company Ltd.
As part of the downstream connectivity, the Department of Power (DoP), Government of Arunachal Pradesh will be building a 220kV double-circuit line connecting the upcoming Niglok (ISTS) substation to the Niglok (New) substation of DoP, Arunachal Pradesh.
Bidding process
Six aspirants had qualified for opening of initial price bids for the NERGS-III scheme. Of these, four – PGCIL, Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL), DRAIPL and Terralight Solar Energy Tinwari Pvt Ltd (a subsidiary of EnerGrid) – moved to the e-reverse auction (e-RA) stage. Based on initial price bids, DRAIPL was ranked L3 with a bid of Rs.4860.00 million but it went on to win the project at the end of the e-RA with a bid of Rs.4376.66 million, around 10 per cent lower than its initial price offer.
Current status
As of August 31, 2026, land identification for the Kaving substation and Niglok switching station was underway. With respect to the two lines, detailed survey was in progress. Engineering activity was being carried out with respect to the Gogamukh substation extension, as of given date. The NERGS-III scheme is scheduled to commission by September 2029.
Meanwhile, the Gogamukh substation being developed under ““NERES XVI Power Transmission Ltd” is facing time overrun. Completion is expected by June 2027 as against November 2026 originally anticipated. As of August 31, 2026, project land – estimated at around 45.22 acre – was entirely acquired. Design and engineering activities were underway. The 400/220/132kV Gogamukh substation will have transformation capacity of 1,400 MVA, coming from 2×500 MVA, 400/220kV and 2×200 MVA, 220/132kV interconnecting transformers.
Featured photograph (source: neepco.co.in) relating to NEEPCO’s Panyor lower hydropower station in Arunachal Pradesh is for representation only