India's power transmission body flags regulatory hurdles in equipment procurement

Time of India

23-05-2025

India's
power transmission sector
is facing acute supply-side bottlenecks, especially in procuring
High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) equipment
critical for carrying renewable energy over long distances, raising concerns over the country's ability to meet its 2030 renewable energy targets.
The
Electric Power Transmission Association (EPTA)
has urged the Power Ministry to provide a level-playing field in
procurement
policies, highlighting a regulatory mismatch that allows renewable energy (RE) developers to bypass subcontracting restrictions, while transmission companies remain bound by them.
The association has called for a temporary exemption from these restrictions until December 2030, to help transmission developers procure key HVDC components without delay.
'This mismatch between generation and transmission is hurting the overall power sector and delaying addition of capacity,' said an official from a leading transmission company, reported PTI. According to the official, while RE projects are built in 12–18 months, transmission lines often take 3–4 years, and HVDC systems even longer.
The issue stems from restrictions on suppliers and subcontractors from countries sharing land borders with India, particularly China, which is a major source of HVDC equipment. Although these curbs apply to central ministries, autonomous bodies, and public-private partnership (PPP) projects, they also extend to transmission developers operating under the fully privately funded Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model, leaving them similarly affected.
The EPTA noted that renewable developers are exempt from these restrictions, following a 2022 clarification by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. It stated that while SECI's procurement qualifies as public procurement, the contracts don't fall under 'works contracts,' thereby allowing unrestricted subcontracting, including from China.
Transmission developers, on the other hand, continue to face full restrictions under tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB). 'Despite TBCB projects not being PPPs, the transmission service providers cannot procure or subcontract from countries sharing land borders with India, thereby severely limiting supplier choices,' said an industry official.
This asymmetry, industry players say, has created a systemic gap between RE generation and transmission readiness, particularly in HVDC-dependent regions like Rajasthan and Khavda in Gujarat.
At present, only two domestic OEMs offer LCC-based HVDC systems, while global manufacturers in Europe and the US are booked until 2030, amid surging renewable installations in the West. As a result, the constrained market is pushing project costs higher, with tariffs reaching up to 17% above levelised rates, and project timelines extending up to six years.
'HVDC projects are vital for renewable energy development, and must be governed by the same procurement norms as RE projects,' EPTA said in its representation to the Power Ministry.
Data from two recently concluded HVDC bids show that it took 19 months just to finalise the tender, with an overall implementation window of 54 months. The
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)
has also acknowledged the issue, noting that HVDC component supply constraints are inflating project costs and justifying higher bids.
Calling for urgent policy harmonisation, EPTA Director General G P Upadhyaya said: 'A systemic gap has emerged between generation readiness and
transmission infrastructure
timelines, particularly for HVDC-dependent RE zones like Rajasthan and Khavda in Gujarat. The timely execution of HVDC systems is a critical path for achieving India's renewable energy targets.'
With inputs from PTI