Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has granted interim transmission licence to “Mandsaur I RE Transmission Ltd,” a TBCB subsidiary of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL).
The interim licence was granted by CERC in its order dated December 15, 2025. PGCIL is now expected to issue a public notice seeking comments/suggestions regarding the grant of licence. Such feedback, if any, needs to be submitted to CERC before December 31, 2025, and the matter has been listed for next hearing on January 6, 2026.
Mandsaur I RE Transmission Ltd is implementing an interstate transmission system (ISTS) scheme formally referred to as “Augmentation of transformation capacity and implementation of line bays at Mandsaur substation for RE Interconnection” and is taking shape in Madhya Pradesh.
Expected to cost Rs.319 crore, the scheme envisages transformation capacity of 2,500 MVA through one 765/400kV, 1×1500 MVA interconnecting transformer (ICT) and two 400/200kV, 1×500 MVA ICTs at the Mandsaur Pooling Station in Madhya Pradesh. There are also several line bays, of 400kV and 220kV, envisaged in the project. The scheme is scheduled to commission in phases between March 2027 and March 2028.
Bidding process
PGCIL won this ISTS scheme under the TBCB framework by quoting the winning tariff (transmission charge) of Rs.446.99 million per year. PGCIL formally acquired the project SPV from bid process coordinator PFC Consulting Ltd (PFCCL) on October 8, 2025.
It is learnt that only three bidders – PGCIL, Techno Electric & Engineering Company Ltd (Techno) and KCC Buildcon Pvt Ltd – were in the fray. Of these, only PGCIL and Techno participated in the e-reverse auction, at the end of which PGCIL’s quote of Rs.446.99 million was declared as the winning bid. PGCIL’s initial price bid, at Rs.465.35 million, was 4.1 per cent higher.
Tariff adoption
CERC, on December 11, 2025, took up for hearing the matter relating to adoption of transmission charges (tariff) of the petitioner Mandsaur I RE Transmission Ltd. However, this matter has been reserved for hearing on a future date as affidavits relating to the change in name of the petitioner are pending submission. It may be mentioned that PGCIL changes the name of its TBCB subsidiary, post acquisition from the bid process coordinator, usually by prefixing “Powergrid” to the original name.
Kudankulam scheme
In a related development, CERC has also recently granted interim transmission licence to another TBCB subsidiary of PGCIL, namely “Powergrid Kudankulam Transmission Ltd,” which was incorporated as “Kudankulam ISTS Transmission Ltd.” The matter for final licence is expected to come up for hearing on December 23, 2025.
Powergrid Kudankulam Transmission Ltd was acquired by PGCIL on January 10, 2025 and the transmission licence process was delayed due to certain issues related to the connectivity agreement between CTUIL and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), it is learnt.
Also read: CERC grants transmission licence to Mundra I Power Transmission
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