NEW DELHI: The government will auction eight contracts to set up power transmission projects worth Rs 53,000 crore in the biggest global bidding round ever since the sector was opened in 2010 and in the next three years.
The bidding will provide an opportunity to private firms like Tata Power BSE 0.11 %, Reliance Infrastructure, Sterlite Energy, Larsen & Toubro, GMR Energy, Lanco Infratech BSE 2.19 % and JSW Energy to bag mega transmission projects connecting several power plant to consumers.
The proposed schemes will benefit the power starved states of south India that face acute power transmission congestion.The transmission contracts include a 2,500-km long high capacity power evacuation link between Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu worth.`26,820 crore. The transmission system will facilitate inter-state transfer about 6,000-MW of electricity.
An empowered committee on transmission decided to bid these projects though the state-run Power Grid Corporation of India was keen to take them up on nomination basis, a senior government official said.
"The empowered committee on transmission has approved tariff-based competitive bidding of over Rs 53,000 crore power evacuation schemes. This is the biggest ever auction of power transmission projects in the past and in the near future. These are pending projects and have got accumulated for lack of decision and such large scale packages are not likely to be bid at least in the next three years," he said.
Electricity transmission in India is a monopoly of Power Grid Corp that owns and operates about 45% of inter-state transmission system. The government has decided that future inter-state transmission system schemes would be awarded under tariff-based competitive bidding.
The proposed schemes include a Rs 8,570 crore inter-regional transmission link to facilitate import of power from Maharashtra to Telengana and Andhra Pradesh.
A Rs 7,032-crore transmission system strengthening scheme beyond Vemagiri in Tamil Nadu has also been approved. A transmission line worth Rs 4,440 crore between Ajmer in Rajasthan till Moga in Punjab has also been proposed. Besides, two separate transmission lines connecting NTPC and Odisha Power Generating Corp have been planned.
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