Bid process coordinator PFC Consulting Ltd (PFCCL) has newly initiated bidding for India’s first ISTS scheme under TBCB, involving installation of synchronous condensers (SynCon).
As per current timelines, the last date for submitting technical and financial bids stands at April 17, 2026.
The scheme, taking shape in Rajasthan, is officially referred to as “Installation of 2 Nos. of Synchronous Condenser (SynCon) units at 765/400/220kV Fatehgarh-II PS”.
At the time of its approval by National Committee on Transmission (NCT) in September 2025, the scheme was estimated to cost around Rs.1,157 crore.
The project will involve putting up two SynCon units at the 400kV of the Fatehgarh-II Pooling Station in Rajasthan, along with two new 400kV bays. Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), the owner of the said pooling station (PS) will provide space for the SynCon units and the line bays.
Significance
The significance of this SynCon scheme is that it is a purely “qualitative” scheme that basically aims at providing grid stability to the Northern Region (NR) grid, in view of high renewable energy (RE) injection in Rajasthan. It involves no new conventional transmission infrastructure – lines or substations. This is also the first ISTS scheme under TBCB purely devoted to installation of synchronous condensers.
It may be carefully noted that another ISTS-TBCB scheme — Barmer HVDC Power Transmission Ltd —also involves putting up of two 400kV SynCon units at the Barmer-II Pooling Station. However, the Barmer HVDC scheme entails a number of other transmission elements, principally two HVDC (LCC) stations – at Barmer and South Olpad. As such, the Fatehgarh-II scheme, presently in discussion, is the first pure SynCon scheme under TBCB. Incidentally, the Barmer HVDC scheme is also currently under bidding with the bid submission date currently placed at April 1, 2026.
Pure STATCOM
In November 2024, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) won an ISTS-TBCB scheme housed under “Powergrid Khavda PS1 and 3 Transmission Ltd” that is similar to the Fatehgarh-II SynCon scheme. The former also aims to provide reactive compensation, but through static synchronous compensators (STATCOM) and not SynCon units. Like the Fatehgarh-II SynCon scheme, the Khavda STATCOM scheme also does not envisage additional lines or transformation capacity. The Khavda STATCOM scheme, scheduled to commission by November 2026, is currently in the process of land acquisition.
For a detailed technical discussion on SynCon and STATCOM, please see tndindia.com story dated October 13, 2025.
Also read: Bidding initiated for RE evacuation scheme in Andhra Pradesh