The Union government has plans to invite bids for Rs 16,000 crore worth of power transmission projects this year (2019), with most of them connecting renewable energy projects to the grid, reports Business Standard (BS).

The bidding process resumes after a gap of two years, and most of the new transmission projects will be developed in power-surplus states like Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra with a huge installed capacity for renewable energy. Tamil Nadu and Punjab will also be home to some of the projects.

The empowered committee on transmission (ECT) approved over twenty transmission projects in its last meeting. While the state-run Power Grid Corporation will construct many of the projects, private players like Sterlite Grid, Adani Power, Essel Infra, and Tata Power will also take part in the auction.

Transmission projects are crucial to ensure affordable electricity access to the entire population.

“Now we have set ourselves on the path of ‘24X7 Power for All’ by 31 March 2019 and the government is committed to take every step to achieve this through expansion and strengthening of infrastructure for power generation, transmission and distribution as also putting in place a robust regulatory framework in terms of amendments to Electricity Act and Tariff Policy,” said Union Power Minister R K Singh to Press Trust of India (PTI).

Also Read: India Is A Power Surplus Country; The Problem Lies In Transmission And Distribution

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