Govt Expands Transmission Project Area In Bidding Rule Update

Transmission Gets Stronger Push with Approval of Green Power Transmission Line in Bundelkhand

The Ministry of Power (MoP) in its latest bidding rule update has amended norms under its Standard Bidding Documents (SBDs) to streamline the procurement of inter-state transmission services through tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB). The latest provision aims to expand the area for developing the project to a 5-km radius. The revisions affect the Request for Proposal (RfP) and Transmission Service Agreement (TSA), key components of the bidding framework.

Transmission Developers

The latest notification updates guidelines were issued on August 6, 2021, and subsequently amended from June 13, 2022, and June 16, 2023. The revisions respond to requests from transmission developers for greater flexibility in location-related provisions for substations, switching stations, and HVDC terminals or inverter stations. Under the new rules, a Generation Pooling Substation must be within 3 km of the location specified in the Bid Process Coordinator’s (BPC) survey report, a Load Serving Substation within 5 km, and an Intermediate Substation within 10 km.

The notification also expands the permissible location for load-serving substations, allowing them to be situated beyond a 5 km radius of the location proposed by the BPC in its survey report. The amendments further clarify the responsibilities of Transmission Service Providers (TSPs), including land acquisition, project financing, permitting, and infrastructure development under a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model. The changes are aimed at improving project execution flexibility while ensuring regulatory oversight.

Projects Currently Under Implementation

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) claimed that 175.89 MW of renewable energy projects in the country are under implementation. The information was shared by the Union Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy, Shripad Yesso Naik, on the floor of Parliament. In response to an unstarred question on the milestones of the government in the green energy sector, the minister talked about the continuous rise of the addition of new capacities of renewable energy in the country.

70 GW of RE Projects Tendered 

“As on 28.02.2025, a total of 214.68 GW renewable energy capacity has been installed in the country. Further, about 175.89 GW of renewable energy projects are under implementation, and 70.21 GW of projects have been tendered. The share of total non-fossil power capacity in the total power generation capacity in the country as on 28.02.2025 has increased to 47.37% from 32.5% as of 31.03.2014,” he said.

The minister also said that with the expansion of the PM Surya Ghar scheme, the country is likely to add 30 GW of solar capacity from the residential rooftop solar sector alone.