PRIVATE power transmission developers have urged the Ministry of Power to strengthen the obligations of Central Transmission Utility of India Ltd (CTUIL) and provide automatic financial and contractual relief to projects delayed by the unavailability of interconnected transmission infrastructure, warning that developers are being exposed to mounting costs for delays beyond their control. In a representation to Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal, the Electric Power Transmission Association (EPTA) has sought changes to the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) framework governing inter-state transmission projects, including deemed commercial operation date (COD), full tariff recovery and protection against penalties where a project's commissioning is held up by delays in separately awarded interconnected facilities.

 

The association said transmission projects are increasingly interdependent, with the completion and commissioning of a transmission line, substation, bay or reactor developed by one transmission service provider (TSP) often contingent on the timely readiness of an interconnected asset being developed under a separate package by another developer. When the latter is delayed, a TSP that has completed all work within its control may be unable to charge or commission its asset and begin recovering tariff, leaving it exposed to debt-servicing costs, interest during construction, operation and maintenance expenses, insurance, working-capital requirements and extension costs for bank guarantees. EPTA argued that the existing transmission service agreement (TSA) framework assigns the nodal agency a coordination role for interconnection facilities but does not provide sufficiently specific and enforceable obligations, defined timelines or automatic commercial relief when interconnected infrastructure is delayed. It has asked the Government to expand CTUIL’s responsibilities to include time-bound coordination to ensure the availability of interconnected transmission elements and facilitate technically feasible alternative arrangements where the originally planned interconnection facility is not ready.

 

A key demand is that transmission developers should be granted deemed COD once they have completed all works capable of being undertaken, even if the project cannot be charged because an interconnected facility is unavailable. EPTA has sought provisional recovery of 100% of the annual transmission charges (YTC) from the date of such deemed COD. It has also sought a day-for-day extension of scheduled COD and protection from liquidated damages, invocation of performance guarantees and default or termination consequences where the delay is not attributable to the affected transmission service provider. The association said the absence of such provisions creates an open-ended and uncapped financial exposure for developers, who continue to bear project-related costs without corresponding tariff recovery despite having completed their contractual obligations. EPTA has also urged the Ministry to issue administrative instructions extending similar relief to transmission projects already under implementation and affected by delays in interconnected elements. The association said the existing framework needed to evolve in line with the growing complexity and interdependence of India's transmission network, arguing that risks should be allocated to the entities best placed to manage them. CTUIL, given its role in transmission planning, implementation coordination, connectivity and monitoring, is best positioned to coordinate interconnected projects and manage risks arising from dependencies between separately bid transmission packages, it said. The association said the proposed changes would prevent completed or substantially completed transmission assets from becoming financially stranded and help preserve investor confidence in the sector. The representation comes as India accelerates transmission infrastructure development to support its target of 500 GW of non-fossil-fuel-based installed capacity by 2030. The expansion of renewable energy capacity, particularly across geographically dispersed generation centres, has increased the need for timely coordination between multiple transmission projects. EPTA said it would welcome an opportunity to present its proposals to the Ministry and assist in framing the necessary contractual amendments and implementation mechanism. The proposed changes, if accepted, could have implications for risk allocation, tariff recovery and contractual accountability across India's inter-State transmission infrastructure projects.