A special study by T&D India, based on official documents, suggests that during fiscal year 2022-23 ending March 31, 2023, a total of eight interstate transmission projects were awarded under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) route. Further, six such projects were commissioned in the same period.
According to the study, which was based on official documents released by Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the eight interstate TBCB projects awarded involved a total investment outlay of over Rs.4,000 crore.
The eight projects awarded during FY23 were distributed amongst five developers – Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), Sterlite Power and three new entrants. The new crop of developers included ReNew Transmission Ventures Pvt Ltd, GR Infraprojects and Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL).
While PGCIL was the most successful with three projects, ReNew Transmission clinched two. Sterlite Power, GR Infraprojects and MEIL got one project each. PGCIL also had to its credit the largest ISTS scheme awarded in FY23 – the Khetri Narela transmission scheme, with an estimated outlay of Rs.1,666 crore.
The project SPVs of the eight schemes awarded in FY23 are:
- Powergrid Narela Transmission System Ltd (PGCIL)
- Powergrid Neemuch Transmission Ltd (PGCIL)
- Powergrid ER NER Transmission Ltd (PGCIL)
- Kishtwar Transmission Ltd (Sterlite Power)
- Gadag Transmission Ltd (Renew Transmission)
- Gadag II Transmission Ltd (Renew Transmission)
- Rajgarh Transmission Ltd (GR Infraprojects)
- Khandukhal Rampura Transmission Ltd (MEIL)
It may be noted that projects SPVs (#1, #2 and #3) mentioned above were originally known as “Khetri-Narela Transmission System Ltd,” “Neemuch Transmission Ltd” and “ER NER Transmission Ltd,” at the time of their incorporation by their bid process coordinator (BPC) concerned. PGCIL renamed them after their formal acquisition from the BPC.
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Completed projects
Of the six projects commissioned in FY23, Adani Transmission was the most successful with three, followed by PGCIL with two and Sterlite Power with one. The six project SPVs in question are:
- Powergrid Medinipur Jeerat Transmission Ltd (PGCIL)
- Powergrid Bhuj Transmission Ltd (PGCIL)
- WRSS XXI (A) Transco Ltd (Adani Group)
- Lakadia Banaskantha Transco Ltd (Adani Group)
- Jam Khambaliya Transco Ltd (Adani Group)
- Lakadia-Vadodara Transmission Project Ltd (Sterlite Power)
It is worth observing that the asset capitalization of the aforementioned six projects was very significant – estimated at nearly Rs.9,500 crore. The Medinipur-Jeerat scheme (#1 above) alone entailed investment of around Rs.4,000 crore.
Cumulative Status
As of March 31, 2023, the interstate TBCB power transmission development space comprised of 72 projects out of which 44 were completed and 24 were under construction. The remaining four were in a state of dormancy for a variety of reasons. Out of the 24 projects under construction, PGCIL had the highest number of such projects – at eight. Sterlite Power followed with five and Adani Power with four. ReNew Transmission Ventures came next in order with three projects. The remaining four projects were loosely distributed across as many developers including Resurgent Power, India Grid Trust (IndiGrid), GR Infroprojects and Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL).
Explanatory Note:
This story is an analysis based on official statistics released by Central Electricity Authority (CEA). The projects discussed here are interstate transmission system (ISTS) schemes awarded under the tariff-based competitive bidding route. Specifically, they do not include projects awarded under the RTM (regulated tariff mechanism) mode, and intrastate projects awarded under the TBCB route. Readers may note that there are several stages even at the time of “awarding” a TBCB project. For instance, the selected developers might announce their emergence as “L1”, the bid process coordinators (PFCCL and RECPDCL) might announce the winning developer and resolve at a board meeting the handing over of the project SPV to the selected developer, etc. As the formal acquisition of the project SPV to the selected developer is a multistage process, there is a time lag, which could extent up to 6-8 weeks, before CEA formally “records” the project in its monitoring ambit. This being the case, there could be some apparent discrepancy with respect to newly awarded projects, between what is generally known in public domain and what is available in CEA records.
A case in point is “WRSR Transmission Ltd” – a project that Adani Transmission Ltd has clinched. The first news of this project came in around mid-January 2023 when RECPDCL announced that Adani Transmission has emerged L1, and that the project SPV would be subsequently handed over to the successful developer. However, as of March 31, 2023, CEA had not taken this project in its monitoring purview.
Featured photograph (source: Transrail Lighing) is for representation only.
