Madhya Pradesh has planned to strengthen the power grid of the Kukshi-Alirajpur area through an intrastate transmission system (InSTS) scheme to be developed under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) framework.
To this effect, the Madhya Pradesh government has appointed REC Power Development & Consultancy Ltd (RECPDCL) to select a developer under the TBCB framework for an intrastate scheme termed as “Strengthening of intrastate transmission system at Kukshi/Alirajpur area by establishment of new EHV substations and associated transmission lines.”
RECPDCL has recently begun the bidder selection process and by current timelines, the last date for submission of technical and financial bids stands at September 14, 2026.
The project involves putting up a new 400/220/132/33kV substation at near Kukshi in Dhar district, in southwestern Madhya Pradesh. This substation will have total transformation capacity of 1,500 MVA across the various voltages. Another 220/132/33kV substation, with total capacity of 500 MVA, is proposed near Alirajpur in the namesake district adjoining Dhar.
These two substations will be interconnected through a 220kV DCDS (double circuit, double stringing) line, and will also be connected to existing 132jV substations like Pati, Jobat and Ambaja. The new Kukshi and Alirajpur substations will be fed through LILOs of existing lines such as the 132kV Kukshi (existing) – Jobat line, 220kV Julwaniya – Kukshi (existing) line, etc.
Project rationale
The Kukshi–Alirajpur region of Madhya Pradesh is witnessing significant growth in electricity demand owing to rapid expansion of agricultural activities, irrigation facilities, domestic consumption and other developmental activities. Currently, power supply to the region is primarily through the existing 220kV Kukshi substation, which serves several important 132kV downstream substations including Alirajpur, Jobat, Singhana, Barwani, Manawar and Ambaja.
Going by the growth in power demand of Madhya Pradesh, the 220/132kV transformers at the existing Kukshi substation will get critically overloaded. Further, due to space constraints, no additional transformers of the said rating are feasible at the existing substation.
It is also learnt that the existing Kukshi substation is primarily fed by the 400kV Julwaniya substation through a 220kV DCDS line. An outage of any one circuit could therefore lead to overloading of the remaining circuit beyond its thermal limit.
The new Kukshi substation, which would be connected to the interstate transmission system (ISTS) grid, and the downstream Alirajpur (new) substation are therefore expected to meet the anticipated growth in the region’s demand, apart from enhancing the availability transfer capacity (ATC) of Madhya Pradesh.
TBCB in Madhya Pradesh
Speaking to tndindia.com, a highly-placed official of state transco MPPTCL said that apart from the Kukshi-Alirajpur scheme that is now under bidding, a large intrastate scheme envisaging 400 MW of renewable energy evacuation has been proposed for development under the TBCB modality.
The official added that the state government has adopted a threshold project cost of Rs.400 crore, whereby all new projects anticipated to cost more than this threshold will be considered for development under the TBCB framework. Nevertheless, depending on their nature, some projects, despite being above this threshold, will still be executed by state transco MPPTCL under the regulated tariff mechanism (RTM), the official clarified.
MPPTCL would also be selectively participating in the bidding process of upcoming intrastate-TBCB schemes in the state, the official added.
Madhya Pradesh has had a rather successful experience with the TBCB model. So far, at least four intrastate-TBCB projects have been awarded to developers that include Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL), Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL).
Of these, PGCIL and AESL have commissioned their projects, housed under Powergrid Bhind Guna Transmission Ltd and M.P. Power Transmission Package-II Ltd, respectively. MEIL’s project — M.P. Power Transmission Package-II Ltd – is in an advanced stage of completion, it is learnt. The most recent intrastate-TBCB project in Madhya Pradesh is Mahan Transmission Ltd, awarded to AESL in March 2025.
In fact, the TBCB culture in Madhya Pradesh can be traced way back to 2013 when the state government, using the Viability Gap Funding (VGF)-based Model Transmission Agreement (MTA), awarded the 400kV Satpura-Aastha transmission line project to Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd (now Kalpataru Projects International Ltd) under the TBCB framework. This project, then housed under Kalpataru Satpura Transco Pvt Ltd, is now under the ownership of Apraava Energy.
Featured photograph (source: MPPTCL) is for representation only