Reliance Industries Ltd has formally acquired project SPV “Lakadia B Power Transmission Ltd,” marking the Mukesh Ambani firm’s entry in the power transmission development space.
On February 14, 2025, bid process coordinator REC Power Development & Consultancy Ltd (RECPDCL) transferred “Lakadia B Power Transmission Ltd” to Reliance Industries Ltd.
The SPV was handed over by T.S.C. Bosh, CEO, RECPDCL to N. Vaidyanathan, Sr. Vice President, Reliance Industries Ltd, in the presence of senior officials of RECPDCL, Reliance Industries Ltd and Central Transmission Utility of India Ltd. (See photograph)
This marks the formal entry of Reliance Industries Ltd in the power transmission development space. The interstate transmission system (ISTS) project housed under the said SPV is termed as “Transmission system for augmentation of transformation capacity at 765/400kV Lakadia substation [WRSS XXI(A) Transco Ltd] in Gujarat, Part B.”
As reported by T&D India on January 21, 2025, Reliance Industries Ltd was issued the letter of intent for Lakadia B by RECPDCL, after RIL emerged as the successful bidder under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) modality.
Tariff
Reliance Industries won the project quoting annual tariff of Rs.596.21 million, getting the better of two of the most seasoned players – Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) and Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL).
RIL in power transmission space
In September 2024, Reliance Industries Ltd had prequalified for an ISTS-TBCB scheme “Jamnagar Transmission Ltd.” This was the first time that RIL was seen bidding in the power transmission development space. Jamnagar Transmission was eventually won by AESL.
It may also be mentioned that in January 2022, Reliance Industries sought to build a dedicated transmission line (400 kV, 120 ckm) to feed 500 MW of RE power to its Jamnagar petroleum refinery in Gujarat. For this, RIL, as a bulk consumer, sought ISTS connectivity from the Khambaliya pooling station. At that time, RIL could have technically built this line but it could not as it was not a transmission licensee itself. This line is now being built by PGCIL under the regulated tariff mechanism (RTM) route. RIL now stands to get “transmission licensee” status through the newly-won Lakadia B scheme.
Outline of Lakadia B
Lakadia B Power Transmission Ltd will essentially aim to augment transformation capacity at the existing Lakadia pooling station in Gujarat. According to information available, a total of six interconnecting transformers (500 MVA, 400/220kV) will be added to the Lakadia PS, taking the total such to eight. Besides, dedicated 220kV line bays will be put up for meeting ISTS connectivity applications of consumers like Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India Ltd, TEQ Green Power XVII Pvt Ltd, among others.
ISTS-TBCB in FY25
According to an analysis by T&D India, a total of 34 ISTS-TBCB schemes have been transferred to winning developers during FY25 so far, which is up to February 14, 2025. These 34 schemes have been distributed among as many as ten developers. PGCIL has been most successful with 18 schemes and a market share of 51 per cent in terms of tariff.
