Renewable energy transmission projects to get 'national importance' tag

Govt hints at increasing share of Power Grid

Power transmission with renewable energy projects could soon get ‘national importance’ tag. This will reduce the levels of approval and the cost of a project would be shared by all beneficiary states. The private sector, however, is apprehensive that instead of competitive bidding, state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) will be allotted the projects.
 
The National Tariff Policy mandates that all projects should be awarded through competitive bidding unless they are “specific category of projects of strategic importance”, which are allotted to state-owned PGCIL, which owns 95 per cent of the transmission market.
 
In a meeting held two weeks back on the issues relating to renewable energy, it was decided that all transmission projects connecting renewables to the National Grid will be taken up as projects of national importance. “All necessary regulatory steps, including issuing of directions or amendments of tariff policy required, shall be taken up accordingly and expeditiously,” said the decision note, which has been reviewed by Business Standard.
 

The same meeting identified 66.5 Gw of transmission projects that are to be built in two phases. In the first phase comprising 29 Gw, 12.4 Gw would be awarded through competitive bidding, 3 Gw has been given to Power Grid and the balance is yet to get any regulatory approval. The meeting was chaired by R K Singh, minister of state for power and new & renewable energy.
 
Similarly, in a recent “brainstorming session” held by the ministry of power with industry and states, renewable industry complained that transmission projects are delayed and this was hampering their construction and power supply plans. In a reply to these concerns, Singh is learnt to have reiterated power transmission would be a sector of “national interest”.
 
Private transmission industry is, however, blaming the government for not awarding the projects.
 
“The 12.4 Gw, which is to be awarded through bidding, are yet to get the approval of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). Another 54.1 Gw is yet to be tabled to the Empowered Committee on Transmission for approval. The government is delaying the project award, but is putting the blame on the industry,” said an executive.
 
After a hiatus of over 400 days, the committee that approves transmission projects was convened in January this year. It approved 20 projects with an estimated cost of Rs 16,000 crore for bidding this year. Most of these would provide connection to renewable zones, generating solar and wind energy.
 
In an estimate by PGCIL, power transmission sector would see a massive investment worth Rs 2.6 trillion by 2022 with close to 106,000 ckms of transmission lines and 292,000 MVA of transformational capacity (capacity of substations).