Major transmission infrastructure addition by ISTS-TBCB schemes expected in Q1FY27

Special Report

Venugopal Pillai
April 6, 2026

The first quarter (Q1: April to June) of FY27 is expected to see significant addition of transmission infrastructure through interstate transmission system (ISTS) schemes awarded under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) mechanism.

According to an analysis by tndindia.com based on latest official statistics released by Central Electricity Authority (CEA), as many as 18 ISTS-TBCB schemes are scheduled to get fully commissioned during Q1FY27.

These 18 schemes include seven owned by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) with the remaining 11 distributed under several private ownership groups.

Put together, these 18 schemes are expected to add around 6,425 ckm of transmission lines and around 63.5 GVA of transformation capacity to the ISTS network. The aggregate investment of these schemes is around Rs.30,000 crore, which, in other words, represents the overall capitalization that will be achieved during Q1FY27.

Time overrun

All the 18 schemes are contending with completion delays, ranging from three months to as much as 43 months. The 11 private sector schemes are seen to have faced a longer time overrun as compared with those of PGCIL. The seven schemes of PGCIL have seen delays of four to seven months.

The most-delayed scheme is “Udupi Kasargode Transmission Ltd,” owned by Resonia, which was originally scheduled to commission by November 2022. Significant delays are also expected by WRSR Power Transmission (Adani Energy Solutions, 23 months) and Khandukhal Rampura Transmission Ltd (Megha Engineering, 20 months).

It may be noted that this study deals with full completion of ISTS-TBCB schemes. It is very likely that some elements of the overall scheme have been commissioned earlier.

PGCIL

All the seven schemes of PGCIL represent renewable energy (RE) evacuation spread over Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka. These schemes are expected to add 2,943 ckm of transmission lines and 41.5 GVA of transformation capacity to the ISTS network. PGCIL is expected to capitalize over Rs.16,000 crore through the commissioning of these schemes.

The aggregate tariff of these seven schemes is estimated at around Rs.1,340 crore, which is the annual revenue that PGCIL would be earning from these schemes during the concession period.

The seven schemes that PGCIL is expected to fully commission during Q1FY27 are formally termed as:

In terms of capital outlay, scheme #4 in the list above is the largest. Housed under “Powergrid Bikaner Neemrana Transmission Ltd,” this Rajasthan-centric scheme, with an estimated project cost of Rs.4,741 crore, envisages 818 ckm of lines and 11,500 MVA of substation capacity.

Incorporated under “Powergrid Koppal Gadag Transmission Ltd,” scheme #2 in the list above, is PGCIL’s largest scheme in terms of tariff, expected to commission in Q1FY27. The scheme’s tariff is around Rs.315 crore and this Karnataka-based transmission system will see 608 ckm of new lines and 9,000 MVA of transformation capacity.

Private Sector

The 11 private sector ISTS-TBCB schemes that are expected to fully commission in Q1FY27 are distributed across several ownerships covering Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL), Resonia, Apraava Energy, IndiGrid Infrastructure Trust (IndiGrid), Torrent Power and Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL).

These schemes will add around 3,500 ckm of lines and 22 GVA of substation capacity to the country’s intrastate transmission network.

IndiGrid is expected to fully commission three schemes while AESL, Apraava Energy and Resonia, two each. Interestingly, Megha Engineering would be commissioning its first ISTS-TBCB scheme, housed under “Khandukhal Rampura Transmission Ltd.” Stymied by RoW challenges, this project involving the 384-ckm 400kV D/C Srinagar-Kashipur Twin HTLS line, is around 20 months behind schedule. Since acquiring this scheme in October 2022, Megha Engineering has not been participating actively in the ISTS-TBCB bidding space.

The Q1FY27 period will also see Torrent Power operationalizing its first ISTS-TBCB asset, housed under Solapur Transmission Ltd.

Schemes in March 2026

Apart from the 18 ISTS-TBCB schemes discussed above, another six such schemes were expected to fully commission in March 2026. However, official confirmation relating to these will be available only by mid-April 2026. These schemes – three each by PGCIL and the private sector – together entail nearly 2,700 ckm of transmission lines and 14 GVA of transformation capacity.