Ongoing fiscal year FY26 appears to have got off to a good start as far as substation capacity addition goes.
Latest official statistics indicate that during the first two months (April and May) of FY26, total substation (transformation) capacity addition stood at a respectable 16,590 MVA.
Though this met only 60 per cent of the planned addition of 27,330 MVA, the performance was very impressive when compared with the 6,225 MVA added in the first two months of FY25.
Much of the 16,590 MVA added in FY26 was in the 765kV voltage class that contributed 9,000 MVA. While 4,085 MVA came from the 400kV category, the remaining 3,505 MVA pertained to the 220kV category (also including the 230kV class).
In the 765kV voltage class, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) commissioned 6,000 MVA of new substation capacity. This was achieved by putting up additional 765/400kV interconnecting transformers (ICT) at three locations – Fatehgarh (Uttar Pradesh), Khavda Pooling Station-2 (or KPS2) and Navsari. The latter two are located in Gujarat.
Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) commissioned 3,000 MVA in the 765kV class by augmenting capacity at the Khavda Pooling Station-1 (KPS1) in Gujarat. This was under an ISTS-TBCB scheme housed under “KPS1 Transmission Ltd,” originally awarded to Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) but later acquired by AESL.
State government utilities added 3,505 MVA in the first two months of FY26 missing the planned addition of 11,830 MVA by a wide margin.
The private sector did commendably by commissioning 4,160 MVA, surpassing the planned addition of 1,500 MVA. In fact, the entire addition came from AESL. In addition to the 3,000 MVA commissioned at KPS1 (as discussed above), the Adani Group entity added 1,160 MVA at the Sangod GIS substation in Rajasthan, as part of an InSTS-TBCB scheme housed under “Sangod Transmission Services Ltd.”
ISTS vs InSTS
In the first two months of FY26, addition to the interstate (ISTS) grid was 9,000 MVA while that on the intrastate (InSTS) network was 7,590 MVA. It may be mentioned that the entire addition in the 765kV class discussed above was on the ISTS side.
As of May 31, 2025, India’s overall transformation capacity was 1,354,103 MVA (or roughly 1,354 GVA), around 42 per cent of which was on the ISTS network.
Planned addition in FY26
For the entire current fiscal year, FY26, the planned transformation capacity addition stands at 197,617 MVA. This is more than twice the 86,433 MVA actually added in FY25.
PGCIL alone is expected to commission 113,005 MVA with the state sector envisaged to contribute 49,107 MVA and the private sector, 35,505 MVA.
In FY25, PGCIL was expected to commission 50,700 MVA of substation capacity, against which the actual addition was 31,515 MVA. Therefore, during FY26, particularly in the initial period, substation capacity commissioned by PGCIL would represent a spillover from FY25.
Also read: Transformation capacity at Davanagere PS to be augmented under TBCB
Featured photograph (source: MPPTCL) is for representation only