The National Committee on Transmission (NCT) has approved revisions to the implementation timelines of several transmission projects currently under bidding with the Central Transmission Utility of India (CTUIL), highlighting delays in many interstate transmission system (ISTS) projects that were originally planned with shorter implementation schedules.

At a recent meeting of the committee convened by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), CTUIL suggested benchmarking and standardizing more realistic timelines for transmission projects to give clarity to renewable energy developers. Such an alignment was crucial to avoid situations in which generation capacity is ready, but evacuation infrastructure is delayed.

However, the meeting concluded that standardizing timelines would not work, as on-the-ground challenges vary from project to project; therefore, schedules must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. It held that while realistic timelines were important for project planning, flexibility was necessary given the diverse challenges encountered in developing transmission infrastructure.

Stakeholders noted that right-of-way (RoW) challenges, land acquisition hurdles, and difficult terrain vary significantly across projects, making a uniform timeline for all transmission programs impractical.

CTUIL said that historically, many transmission projects were given 24-month completion timelines to align with the relatively short construction periods of renewable energy projects. In difficult terrains or complex project environments, timelines of 30–36 months were sometimes considered.

Projects hit by implementation challenges on the ground include the Narela substation, the Khetri–Narela 765 kV double-circuit transmission line, the Fatehgarh-IV pooling station and associated lines, and the Ahmedabad–Navsari 765 kV line.

Following the discussion, NCT revised the implementation timeline for the Tumkur-II transmission strengthening project to integrate 2.7 GW of renewable energy, extending it from 24 to 36 months due to anticipated RoW challenges.

The timelines for the Kurnool-IV Phase-II transmission system and the Krishnagiri Renewable Energy Zone Phase-I integration scheme were also revised to 36 months.

According to recent CEA data, India achieved 5,077 circuit kilometers (ckm) of power transmission lines between April and December in the financial year 2025–26, accounting for only 47.5% of the cumulative target of 10,696 ckm set for the period.

The industry has also attributed transmission project delays to supply chain shortages and higher procurement costs, driven by high demand for transformers and other critical transmission components.