The Ministry of Power has introduced amendments to the standard bidding documents for procuring interstate transmission services through a tariff-based competitive bidding process.

These amendments apply to the establishment, operation, and maintenance of transmission projects on a build, own, operate, and transfer basis. The revisions aim to address challenges in land acquisition while improving the transmission projects’ feasibility and flexibility.

One of the key changes in the amendment is the revision of locational constraints for greenfield substations, which include switching stations, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) terminals, and inverter stations. The actual location of a generation pooling substation must remain within a 3 km radius of the point specified in the survey report prepared by the bid process coordinator. The permissible location radius has been increased to 5 km for load-serving substations. However, the locational constraint for an intermediate substation remains unchanged at 10 km.

Previously, both generation pooling and load-serving substations were restricted to a 3 km radius, while intermediate substations were limited to 10 km. The amendment distinguishes between generation pooling and load-serving substations by expanding the latter’s permissible radius.

These revisions address practical challenges developers face in acquiring land and implementing transmission projects. By allowing an increased location radius for load-serving substations, the amendment aims to provide greater flexibility while maintaining efficiency and feasibility in transmission infrastructure development.

Mercom has reported on how transmission infrastructure challenges, especially the shortage of substations, are a huge concern for projects under development.

The estimated expenditure for implementing the additional transmission system (including transmission lines, substations, and reactive compensation) during 2022-27 is projected at ₹4.25 trillion (~$50.55 billion), according to the Volume II – Transmission of National Electricity Plan issued by the Central Electricity Authority.

Expanding India’s transmission system from 2022-27 will include the addition of 114,687 ckm of transmission lines and 776,330 MVA of transformation capacity at the 220 kV level and above. A 1,000 MW HVDC bi-pole capacity is also planned. These developments will bring the total transmission line length to 571,403 ckm, the transformation capacity to 18,47,280 MVA, and the HVDC bi-pole capacity to 34,500 MW by the end of 2027.

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