Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has approved and adopted the annual transmission charge (tariff) of the mega Khavda HVDC project that Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) won under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) mechanism.
In a very recent order, CERC said that it has approved and adopted the annual transmission charge (tariff) of Rs.40,828.67 million for the aforementioned project, subject to grant of interstate transmission licence to the project by CERC.
The Khavda HVDC project, formally known as “Transmission system for evacuation of power from potential renewable energy zone in Khavda area of Gujarat under Phase-V (8 GW): Part A” is housed under “Khavda V-A Power Transmission Ltd,” a wholly-owned subsidiary of PGCIL.
Estimated to cost around Rs.25,000 crore, Khavda V-A was formally acquired by PGCIL on November 19, 2024, making it the first-ever HVDC-based power transmission project awarded under the TBCB framework. (Read more).
The bidding process
Newly available information reveals interesting features of the bidding process. While PGCIL ultimately won the project with a final bid of Rs.40,828.67 million (now approved by CERC), it was not placed L1 when the initial price bids were opened.
In fact, Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) was placed L1 with an initial price bid of Rs.55,550 million while PGCIL, with a bid of Rs.58,500 million was L2. Sterlite Power (now Resonia) was L3 with a quote of Rs.68,517 million. There were only three bidders in the fray.
The e-reverse auction (e-RA), where the final price discovery takes place, had as many as 123 rounds of bidding. At the end of the e-RA, PGCIL emerged winner with a winning quote of Rs.40,828.67 million, very closely followed by AESL with Rs.41,033.59 million – just 0.5 per cent higher than the winning bid.
Thus, it can be seen that in this aggressively contested bidding process, PGCIL downwardly revised its own initial bid by as much as 30 per cent to win the project.
While AESL did not win this project, it soon went on to clinch “Rajasthan Part I Power Transmission Ltd,” making it India’s first HVDC-based power transmission project awarded to a private sector entity under the TBCB modality.
Current status
The mega Khavda HVDC project is currently under survey and design engineering stage, with major orders placed on KEC International and Jyoti Structures (for transmission lines) and on a consortium of BHEL and Hitachi Energy India Ltd, for the HVDC terminal stations.
The project consists of the following elements:
- A 6000 MW, ±800kV KPS2 (HVDC) [LCC] terminal station (4×1500 MW) in Gujarat
- A 6000 MW, ±800kV Nagpur (HVDC) [LCC] terminal station (4×1500 MW) in Maharashtra
- ±800kV HVDC Bipole line (Hexa lapwing) between KPS2 (HVDC) and Nagpur (HVDC) terminal stations (around 2,412 ckm)
It is further learnt that six interconnecting transformers (ICT) of 765/400kV, 1500 MVA will be put up at Nagpur substation in Maharashtra. Associated interconnections with the HVDC switchyard will also be part of the project.
By current thinking, the first pole of the bipolar HVDC KPS-Nagpur HVDC link is scheduled to commission by November 2028, which is also when the ICTs at the Nagpur substation will be put up. The second pole is expected to commission by May 2029, resulting in full commissioning of the Khavda HVDC project.
Featured photograph (source: Hitachi Energy India) is for representation only
