Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) has been named successful bidder for development of a mega ISTS scheme involving HVDC technology.
In a stock exchange filing, PGCIL said that it has been declared as the successful bidder under tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) to establish Inter-State transmission system for “Evacuation of power from potential renewable energy zone in Khavda area of Gujarat under Phase-V (8 GW): Part A,” on build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis.
The letter of intent (LoI) has been received by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd on October 24, 2024, the filing said.
According to information available with T&D India, but not contained in the PGCIL filing, this project housed under “Khavda V-A Power Transmission Ltd” is expected to cost nearly Rs.25,000 crore and is believed to be historically the biggest ISTS-TBCB scheme, in terms of capital outlay.
PGCIL was in the final race for the project alongside two other contenders – Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) and Sterlite Power.
Managed by bid process coordinator REC Power Development & Consultancy Ltd (RECPDCL), this scheme was in the bidding stage since around November 2023, and the initial price bids, it is learnt, were opened on September 18, 2024.
It is important to note that the bidding process got prolonged due to extensive deliberations over the technical parameters. As this scheme is heavily based on HVDC technology, representations were made by potential bidders and equipment suppliers on various factors like gestation period and the minimum local content (MLC) clause.
In view of these representations, the power ministry, in July this year, relaxed the MLC requirement from 60 per cent to 25 per cent.
Multistate project
This Khavda V-A project will straddle Maharashtra and Gujarat and will mainly involve the setting up of the following elements:
- A 6000 MW, ±800kV KPS2 (HVDC) [LCC] terminal station (4×1500 MW) in Gujarat
- A 6000 MW, ±800kV KPS2 (HVDC) [LCC] terminal station (4×1500 MW) in Maharashtra
- ±800kV HVDC Bipole line (Hexa lapwing) between KPS2 (HVDC) and Nagpur (HVDC) terminal stations (around 1,200 km)
By current timelines, Bipole-I is scheduled to commission in 48 months, followed by Bipole-2 in six months thereafter.
Second HVDC scheme
For PGCIL, this could have been the second HVDC-based ISTS-TBCB scheme in FY25. It may be mentioned that PGCIL had emerged L1 for “Rajasthan Part I Power Transmission Ltd,” which ultimately came up for rebidding. By current thinking, bid process coordinator RECPDCL is likely to open the technical bids on November 5, 2024.
Five schemes awaiting formal transfer
Including this “Khavda V-A Power Transmission Ltd” scheme, PGCIL has so far been declared successful bidder in five ISTS-TBCB schemes for which the formal SPV transfer is pending. The remaining four are:
- Khavda PS1 and 3 Transmission Ltd
- Barmer I Transmission Ltd
- Bikaner A Power Transmission Ltd
- Bikaner B Power Transmission Ltd
In terms of ISTS-TBCB wins where the formal SPV has taken place, PGCIL’s score in FY25 stands at ten, out of a total of 19 such schemes.
Also read: PGCIL named successful bidder for two ISTS-TBCB schemes – Bikaner A, Bikaner B
Featured photograph (source: Siemens) is for representation only
