Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) has acquired project SPV “Kudankulam ISTS Transmission Ltd” from bid process coordinator PFC Consulting Ltd.
PGCIL, in a stock exchange communication, said that the formal acquisition was completed on January 10, 2025.
The Central PSU had emerged as the successful bidder for this interstate transmission system (ISTS) scheme under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) route and was issued the letter of intent (LoI) on December 12, 2024.
Bidding
While details of the winning tariff quoted by PGCIL are not yet known, it is learnt that Techno Electric & Engineering Company Ltd was the only other bidder in the fray.
Project details
The scheme is officially termed as “Transmission system under ISTS for evacuation of power from Kudankulam Unit – 3 & 4 (2×1000 MW)” and involves setting up evacuation infrastructure for Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd’s (NPCIL) upcoming Unit 3 and Unit 4 (each of 1,000 MW) at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant (KKNPP) in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu.
According to informed sources, this is the first instance where transmission infrastructure for nuclear power evacuation is being built under the TBCB mode.
With a gestation period of 30 months and a targeted completion date of December 2026, the project will have an outlay of Rs.548 crore, as estimated by National Committee on Transmission (NCT).
The scheme involves erecting a 400kV double-circuit (quad) line from KKNPP-Unit 3 & 4 up to the Tuticorin-II (GIS) Pooling Station, running about 120 km. Besides, the selected developer will also build two 400kV line bays at the said pooling station.
It may be noted that the corresponding line bays at the KKNPP end will be developed by NPCIL, as they are not considered part of the interstate transmission system (ISTS) grid.
The 400/230kV Tuticorin-II (GIS) substation is owned by PGCIL and currently has a transformation capacity of 2,000 MVA, according to information available with T&D India.
InSTS connectivity
It is reliably learnt that a certain portion of electricity generated at KKNPP-U3 & U4 will be injected into Tamil Nadu’s state grid via a 400kV (quad) double-circuit line of around 30 km connecting to the 400kV Samugarangapuram substation of state utility Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Ltd (Tantransco). This system will be built jointly by NPCIL and Tantransco.
PGCIL’s scorecard
Speaking of only ISTS-TBCB schemes formally transferred to successful developers during FY25 so far, PGCIL has won 17 out of 30 such schemes. In the case of six other ISTS-TBCB schemes, either the winning (L1) bidder has been announced or the letter of intent (LoI) has been issued to the winning developer. However, the formal transfer of SPV from the respective bid process coordinator to the selected developer was pending, as of January 10, 2025.
Also read: PGCIL receives letter of intent for two ISTS-TBCB schemes
Featured photograph (source: Hindustan Construction Company Ltd) is a file picture of NPCIL’s KKNPP (U1 and U2, each of 1,000 MW) whilst under construction. These two units have since started commercial operations – U1 in December 31, 2014 followed by U2 on March 31, 2017.
