Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) has announced the full commissioning of the Ananthapuram-Kurnool interstate transmission system (ISTS) scheme that it had won under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) mechanism.
In a brief stock exchange notification, PGCIL said that the “Transmission scheme for Solar Energy Zone in Ananthpuram (Ananthapur) (2,500 MW) and Kurnool (1,000 MW), Andhra Pradesh” has been completely commissioned with effect from June 24, 2026, for which Notification for Commercial Operation (DOCO) dated June 25, 2026 has been received on June 26, 2026. The project was entrusted to Powergrid Ananthpuram Kurnool Transmission Ltd, the filing said.
Here are details of the Ananthapuram-Kurnool scheme, based on information available with tndindia.com from official sources.
The Ananthapuram-Kurnool scheme was awarded to PGCIL under the TBCB mode with the Central PSU quoting the winning tariff (annual transmission charges) of Rs.1,288.88 million, getting the better of four other contenders. PGCIL acquired the project SPV, then known as “Ananthpuram Kurnool Transmission Ltd” from bid process coordinator PFC Consulting Ltd (PFCCL) on September 27, 2023.
PGCIL subsequently renamed to project SPV to “Powergrid Ananthapuram Kurnool Transmission Ltd.” This SPV, effective March 1, 2026, was merged/amalgamated with Powergrid Khavda II-C Transmission Ltd.” This merger was part of a consolidation exercise of PGCIL’s TBCB subsidiaries, as discussed in tndindia.com’s story dated June 3, 2026.
By original thinking, the project was scheduled to fully commission in September 2025, which is 24 months from the SPV transfer date.
The project, entirely located in the Rayalaseema region Andhra Pradesh, consisted mainly of the following three elements, aggregating 3,500 MVA of transformation capacity and 572 ckm of 400kV lines:
- 400/220kV, 7×500 MVA Ananthapuram pooling substation (PS) [3,500 MVA]
- 400kV double-circuit (quad moose) Ananthapuram PS – Kurnool III PS line (171 ckm)
- 400kV double-circuit (quad moose) Ananthapuram PS – Cuddapah line (371 ckm)
Besides, four 400kV line bays two each at Kurnool III PS and Cuddapah) were also part of the project.
Element #2 in the list above was commissioned in January 2026. Besides, four of the seven ICTs (400/220kV, 1×500 MVA) of the Ananthapuram PS were commissioned during the period from January 2026 to March 2026.
The project was fully commissioned on June 24, 2026 with the commissioning of remaining ICTs at the Ananthapuram PS, and the Ananthapuram PS – Cuddapah line.
The project was impeded by RoW-related issues mainly in the districts of Anantapur and YSR Kadapa (formerly YSR Cuddapah)
According to information available with tndindia.com, this is PGCIL’s first ISTS-TBCB project to fully commission in the current fiscal year, FY27, so far.
In FY26, a total of 17 ISTS-TBCB schemes were fully commissioned, out of which PGCIL accounted for a dominant ten. (Read tndindia.com story dated April 23, 2026.)
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