Godrej Enterprises Group views EPC of power substations as a focus area, and foresees itself as a specialized substations player in the years to come.
Addressing a media roundtable in Mumbai recently, Raghavendra Mirji, Executive Vice President & Business Head – Energy Solutions of Godrej Enterprises Group, said that the company will focus predominantly on substations and is positioning itself as a top substation EPC player.
In a relatively short span of just 4-5 years, Godrej has built a strong portfolio of around 80 commissioned substation projects covering both the AIS and GIS types.
Godrej Enterprises Group has to its credit the very first 400kV GIS substation in Mumbai, which was built for a private utility. It has also commissioned the first 400kV GIS in Bihar for Bihar Grid Company Ltd – a joint venture between Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) and the Bihar state government.
Elaborating on the 400kV GIS substation in Mumbai, Mirji said that in view of the acute space constraints in the city, Godrej Enterprises Group, leveraged its designing competence and came up with a compact design that took up 40 per cent less space than what a conventional GIS substation would have taken up. The 400kV GIS substation with 1,500 MVA reactors was of a unique “vertical” design and was built with significantly lower geographical footprint and a much shorter gestation period. The use of steel decks instead of conventional concrete decks ensured that the GIS substation was built within the tight completion schedule.
Raghavendra Mirji noted that Godrej Enterprises Group, in a relatively short period of time, has already qualified for building 765kV substations, thanks to a long list of successful project references. The top official said that the group was building a 765kV AIS substation at Lakadia in Gujarat, and 765kV GIS substations in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Most of these substations will be for renewable energy evacuation. “Godrej is playing an important role in evacuation of renewable energy by partnering with both private and government utilities,” observed Mirji.
When asked about transmission lines, Mirji explained that Godrej Enterprises Group was also involved in construction of overhead transmission lines but mostly when accompanied by substation mandates. The group was not too keen on pure-play transmission contracts as there is inherently limited scope for innovation. The scope for design, engineering and optimization exists more on the substation contracting side, Mirji felt. Nevertheless, Godrej has to its credit a commissioned portfolio of 300 km of transmission lines, including those at 765kV voltage level.
On EHV underground cabling, which is fast picking up, especially in urban areas, Mirji pointed out that while Godrej Enterprises Group has frequently undertaken underground cabling as part of their power transmission contracts, it recently completed a full-fledged underground cabling project, across Mithi River in Mumbai, for a private utility. This underground cable, connecting the substations at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and Chembur, and was part of a project to enhance power availability to Mumbai city.
Speaking of railway electrification, Raghavendra Mirji maintained that in keeping with the group’s philosophy of focusing on substations, Godrej Enterprises Group was actively involved in building traction substations, mainly under the “Mission Raftaar” initiative of Indian Railways.
Four verticals
While power infrastructure EPC is a major part of the Energy Solutions business of Godrej Enterprises Group, there are three other verticals, explained Mirji. These include MEP (mechanical, electrical & public health); manufacture and supply of bus ducts; and energy-efficiency solutions. Godrej manufactures bus ducts at its Bengaluru facility and supplies the same for various applications like commercial buildings, power generation stations, lift irrigation schemes, industrial projects, etc. Bus ducts are used for distribution of power over large-scale applications, and are used as an alternative to cables, Mirji explained.
In the energy-efficiency vertical, Godrej provides products and solutions that reduce electricity consumption in air compressors that are used in industries like textiles, metallurgy, etc. Besides, facilitating green certification for clients under standards like IGBC (Indian Green Building Council), and GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment), also forms part of the energy-efficiency vertical.
Growing order book
Godrej Enterprises Group currently has an outstanding order book of over Rs.2,400 crore, over 90 per cent of which relates to substation projects. Raghavendra Mirji was optimistic of its order backlog growing 30 per cent year-on-year, and the Energy Solutions business was eyeing revenue of Rs.2,000 crore in FY26 as against the project revenue of Rs.1,500 crore in the current fiscal year, FY25. These figures relate to the power infrastructure vertical alone. The MEP business, for instance, has an order book of around Rs.600 crore, Mirji noted.
GIS is the way forward
Raghavendra Mirji expressed confidence that the GIS substation EPC business would be the principal growth driver of Godrej’s Energy Solutions business. With land becoming increasingly scarce, especially in urban areas, GIS substations would soon become the norm. Besides, Mirji was also satisfied with the increasing indigenization of GIS substation equipment. Except for some components that need to be imported, the GIS substation value chain was largely indigenous, he said. Even operations & maintenance (O&M) of GIS substation has become an established activity and sensitive issues like detecting SF6 gas leakages are being dealt with scientifically. It may be noted that SF6 (sulphur hexafluoride) gas —the insulating medium used in GIS (gas-insulated switchgear) — is a greenhouse gas and can have severe detrimental ecological implications if allowed to escape in the atmosphere.
Mirji reiterated that substations, particularly the GIS variant, provide immense opportunity for EPC contractors like Godrej Enterprise Group to leverage expertise in design, engineering, construction and optimization. Besides, hybrid substations using a combination of AIS and GIS also provide scope for Godrej to deploy its technical competence. In the years to come, GIS will be the way forward. AIS substations will be gradually replaced by GIS ones and there is also immense scope for existing GIS substations to be re-designed for greater land-use efficiency. “Going forward, compactness will be the key driver,” predicted Mirji. Foreseeing tremendous opportunity in the substation EPC space, Raghavendra Mirji asserted that Godrej Enterprises Group had mastered designing of EHV substations and the group saw itself as a major substation player in the years to come.
