PGCIL Acquires Ramgarh New Transmission to Facilitate 8.1 GW of Solar Power

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), a state-owned power transmission company, has acquired the Ramgarh New Transmission Limited (RNTL) under Phase II, Part-A of the ‘transmission strengthening program’ to evacuate 8.1 GW of power from solar energy zones in Rajasthan.
RNTL was incorporated on June 26, 2020, by REC Power Distribution Company Limited. In December 2020, REC invited bids for constructing the transmission network, and PGCIL had bagged this project along with two other power transmission projects through competitive bidding held in February 2021. PGCIL had emerged as the lowest bidder quoting a levelized tariff of ?390.53 million ($5.36 million) per year across 36 years.
After completing the bidding process, the special purpose vehicle was to be transferred to the selected bidder. The entity was acquired for about ?56.1 million (~$767,703), including 50,000 equity shares at par at ?10 (~$0.136) each, along with its assets and liabilities as of the acquisition date.
The project will be developed on a build, own, operate, and maintain basis.
The program’s Phase II includes evacuation of 1.05 GW of power in Bhadla complex, 2.2 GW in Fatehgarh complex, 1.9 GW in Ramgarh, and 2.95 GW in Bikaner.
As per the BSE filing, the transmission system comprises establishing a new 400/220kV substation at Ramgarh, 400kV DC transmission lines, and associated substation extension works, facilitating the transfer of power from renewable energy sources for onward disbursal to beneficiaries. The transmission system is an interstate transmission system (ISTS) and is to be completed within 18 months.
For the evacuation of power, a high capacity 765kV and 400kV transmission system interconnecting Bhadla-II, Fatehgarh-II, Sikar, and Khetri, along with the establishment of 765/400kV new substation at Sikar-II and Narela and 400/220kV new substation at Bikaner-II and Ramgarh-II have been planned under Phase II of the evacuation program.
Approval for grant of transmission license and adoption of transmission charges are to be obtained from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission by RNTL after the acquisition by PGCIL.
In February this year, PGCIL bagged two power transmission projects in Rajasthan through tariff-based competitive bidding. These projects are being built to evacuate 8.1 GW of power from solar energy zones in the state.