Government-owned power transmission utility Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID) has approved investments in two projects totaling ₹6.5 billion (~$79.03 million).

The company’s board of directors greenlit an investment of ₹5.1 billion (~$62.03 million) for the implementation of a Unified Load Dispatch and Communication (ULDC) Phase-III (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisitions Systems (SCADA) and Energy Management Systems (EMS) upgradation project at northern State Load Dispatch Centres (SLDC).

The project is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2025.

POWERGRID also approved an investment of ₹1.4 billion (~$16.87 million) to augment a 765/400kV MVA transformer at Bhiwani, de-linked from the transmission system for evacuating renewable energy in Leh (5 GW Leh-Kaithal transmission corridor). This project is scheduled to be commissioned by May 2025.

With a footprint in 23 countries, POWERGRID has connected a transmission network of about 4,000 MW through the international borders of Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal. “Our network is one of the largest in the world, with almost 1,490 transmission lines. We have 276 substations and a transformation capacity of over 500,000 MVA,” said Ravinder Kumar Tyagi, chairperson and managing director at the company’s investors and analysts meeting.

Last November, POWERGRID announced an investment of ₹3.67 billion (~$44.05 million) for infrastructure expansion that consisted of two transmission projects scheduled to be commissioned in 2025.

In November 2023, the company’s special-purpose vehicle, POWERGRID Bhadla Transmission, was authorized by the Ministry of Power to set up overhead transmission lines on a modified route to evacuate 8.1 GW of power from the solar energy zone in Rajasthan under Phase-II Part B. The SPV was acquired by the company in 2021.

In November 2022,  POWERGRID said it plans to invest $34.2 billion in the next six years to set up an interstate transmission network to evacuate renewable energy. The investment was expected to go towards strengthening the infrastructure at the distribution level and cost reduction measures.