The Central government will soon auction power transmission contracts worth over Rs 8,000 crore connecting renewable energy projects in western and northern states.
The government has deferred the earlier decision on lines worth Rs 5,500 crore. Contracts worth about Rs 3,500 crore have been awarded on nomination basis to the Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL).
Private sector firms such as Tata Power, Adani Transmission, Laresn & Toubro Infra, Torrent Power, Kalpataru Power Transmission and Megha Engineering had earlier bid for such contracts.
The government has also compressed the timeline for implementing the projects to 18 months while setting September 2020 as the target completion date for some projects. Power transmission companies have also suggested the government to half the auction timeline from the planned 140 days to 70 days.
The National Committee on Transmission had deferred the Rs 5,500 crore contracts due to lack of clarity on the status of the renewable energy generation plants. The Electric Power Transmission Association has asked for auction of these projects.