Announcement of the Expression of Interest
The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) has officially issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) to privatize the establishment, operation, distribution, and retail supply of electricity in Amaravati Capital City. Published in September 2026, the tender document invites national and international power sector firms to establish and manage a modern, digitally enabled electrical distribution network for the state’s greenfield capital.
According to the official tender schedule, prospective bidders must submit their pre-EoI queries by September 21, 2026. The final due date for the receipt of both hard and soft copy EoI applications is October 12, 2026. Submitted applications are scheduled to be opened on October 13, 2026, at 11:00 AM at the APCRDA Project Office in Amaravati.
Scope of the Project & Infrastructure Profile
Demographic & Economic Scale
Amaravati Capital City forms the core administrative and economic zone of the broader Amaravati Capital Region. Planned as a greenfield city across 27 pooled villages where local farmers contributed land under a land-pooling scheme in exchange for commercial and residential plots, the project exhibits significant demographic and scale projections:
- Amaravati Capital City: Spans approximately 217 sq. km. It is projected to accommodate a population of approximately 20 lakh residents (growing to long-term estimates of 3.55 million by 2050), generate roughly 12.8 lakh jobs, and develop into a US$ 22 billion economy by FY2047.
- Amaravati Capital Region: Covers approximately 8,600 sq. km across six districts. By FY2047, the region is projected to house nearly 140 lakh people and contribute approximately 28% of Andhra Pradesh’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
Technical & Underground Network Features
While high-voltage regional transmission lines remain under state utility management, the local electricity distribution system (operating at 33 kV, 11 kV, and Low Tension levels) in Amaravati is engineered to be entirely underground. Unlike other Indian cities where underground cabling is restricted to specific commercial districts or municipal pockets, Amaravati is set to become the first city in India with a comprehensive, city-wide underground distribution grid (contrasting with Mumbai, which currently holds the distinction for a fully underground transmission system). Utility ducts are being actively laid beneath the ground in tandem with primary and secondary road construction across the capital core.
Ongoing Infrastructure Upgrades
To accommodate future load demands and eliminate physical obstructions to ongoing urban construction, state transmission utility AP Transco is executing foundational grid modifications:
- Financial Outlay: A total of ₹1,979 crore in electricity infrastructure projects is actively being invested in the capital area.
- Transmission Line Rerouting: AP Transco is relocating and rerouting existing 400 kV and 220 kV high-voltage transmission lines that pass through the core capital zone, as their original alignments intersected major building sites.
- Execution Progress: The proposed grid infrastructure works are currently reported at approximately 27% completion, with remaining phases scheduled for execution alongside urban build-out.
- Substation Enhancements: Seven existing substations currently supplying overhead power to the pooled village areas are being upgraded to handle the anticipated multi-fold surge in demand as major administrative, commercial, and residential complexes open.
EoI Tender Timeline, Key Eligibility Criteria & Submission Guidelines
Process Schedule Table
| Event / Particular | Schedule Date / Details |
| Upload of EoI Document on APCRDA Website | 10 September 2026 |
| Pre-EoI Query Submission by Prospective Firms | 21 September 2026 |
| Due Date for Receipt of EoI Applications | 12 October 2026 |
| Date and Time of Opening EoI Applications | 13 October 2026 at 11:00 AM |
Key Eligibility Criteria
To qualify for evaluation, prospective private applicants must meet distinct general, financial, and technical prerequisites:
- General Eligibility:
- Must be a legally registered entity in India or abroad.
- Must not have been blacklisted by any State or Central government authority in the 2 years prior to the bid submission date.
- Financial Eligibility:
- Net Worth Requirement: Minimum average positive net worth of ₹1,000 Crores over the last three financial years (FY 2022-23, FY 2023-24, and FY 2024-25). Net worth must strictly adhere to the formula:
Net Worth = Paid-up capital + Free Reserves - Intangible Assets - Accumulated Losses - Cash Accruals Requirement: Minimum average cash accruals of ₹200 Crores over the same three-year period (FY 2022-23 to FY 2024-25).
- Net Worth Requirement: Minimum average positive net worth of ₹1,000 Crores over the last three financial years (FY 2022-23, FY 2023-24, and FY 2024-25). Net worth must strictly adhere to the formula:
- Technical Eligibility:
- Demonstrated operational experience in power sector activities, including power generation, transmission, or distribution operations, network upgradation, or smart metering deployment.
Submission Details & Contact Attribution
Applicants must submit both physical hard copies and electronic soft copies of their application:
- Hard Copy Delivery: Applications must be enclosed in a sealed envelope superscribed “EOI for Establishment of Electricity Distribution Network along with distribution and retail supply of electricity in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh” and delivered to:
The Commissioner, APCRDA Project Office, Rayapudi Post, Tulluru Mandal, Amaravati, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh – 522237.
- Soft Copy Delivery: Completed application forms in PDF format must be emailed to
praveenchand@apcrda.orgprior to the stipulated due date. - Official Nodal Contact: Inquiries and submissions are formally attributed to Sri G S S Praveenchand, I.A.S., Additional Commissioner (FAC), APCRDA (Phone: +91-9154559694; Email:
praveenchand@apcrda.org).
Comparative Context and Parallel Sector Developments
Greenfield City Comparisons
Should the project proceed to concession or licensing, Amaravati will become the second greenfield city in India to fully privatize its power distribution network from inception. It follows Greater Noida, where power distribution was privatized in 1993 via Noida Power Company Limited (NPCL), a subsidiary of Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC, part of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group).
Industry records show that a delegation from CESC has already completed field visits to Amaravati to assess site conditions and grid alignment. This aligns with CESC’s active expansion footprint in urban power distribution, which includes its acquisition of the electricity distribution network in the Union Territory of Chandigarh in February 2025.
Parallel Sourcing Policies
The urban distribution EoI follows a separate policy measure instituted by the Government of Andhra Pradesh that allows large power consumers (requiring loads exceeding 300 MW) to apply for parallel distribution licenses. This policy primarily targets hyper-scale data center complexes being established near Visakhapatnam by corporate groups such as Adani, Reliance, Google, and Meta, enabling direct private sourcing of power outside the traditional state DISCOM framework.
Union Resistance, Legal Arguments, and Regulatory Framework
AIPEF Formal Objection
The privatization initiative has drawn formal objections from national and state power sector employee federations. Following an initial representation by the APSEB Engineers Association on September 21, 2026, the All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF)—led by Chairman Shailendra Dubey—submitted a detailed representation to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on September 22, 2026.
Key Arguments by Power Engineers
The employee federations outlined several legal, financial, and operational objections regarding the tender process:
- Demand for Tender Cancellation: AIPEF urged the state government to immediately withdraw or keep the APCRDA EoI in abeyance and entrust the distribution grid and retail supply of Amaravati to state-owned utility APCPDCL (Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Corporation Limited), which currently holds the statutory distribution license for NTR, Krishna, Guntur, Palnadu, Bapatla, Markapuram, and Prakasam districts.
- Statutory Licensing Limits: The unions argued that the EoI issued by APCRDA is legally “an exploratory exercise” that cannot directly confer distribution rights or override the statutory licensing framework. Under Sections 14, 15, and 16 of the Electricity Act, 2003, the authority to grant a Distribution License rests exclusively with the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC). A urban development authority cannot grant statutory distribution rights via a municipal tender or concession agreement.
- Financial Impact & Granular Employee Protections: AIPEF highlighted that severing Amaravati’s high-value commercial and institutional consumer base from APCPDCL would destabilize the state DISCOM’s cross-subsidy mechanism and financial viability. Furthermore, creating a parallel distribution network threatens to cause duplicate capital expenditure in substations, feeders, and O&M infrastructure. The unions criticized the EoI for omitting frameworks to safeguard existing power sector workforce interests—specifically citing risks to pensioners, outsourcing personnel, promotional avenues, recruitment posts, electrical safety, and specialized disaster management expertise.
- Model Smart City Counter-Proposal: AIPEF submitted that modern grid objectives—such as SCADA/DMS, GIS mapping, underground cabling, and smart metering—can be executed under public ownership. They proposed developing Amaravati as a “Model Smart Electricity Distribution City” under APCPDCL, incorporating renewable energy integration, EV charging infrastructure, and energy storage systems to demonstrate that modernization does not necessitate privatization.
The competitive process to evaluate market interest in operating Amaravati’s power distribution grid is underway under the administration of APCRDA.
- Application Submission Deadline: October 12, 2026 (Hard and soft copies).
- Application Opening: October 13, 2026, at 11:00 AM.
The outcome of the EoI will assist state authorities in assessing potential commercial structures under the Electricity Act, 2003, while the state executive considers statutory and policy representations submitted by industry union stakeholders.
Official Sources & Reference Citations
1. Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA)
- Document Title: Expression of Interest (EoI) for Establishment and Operation of Electrical Distribution Network along with Distribution and Retail Supply of Electricity in Amaravati Capital City, Andhra Pradesh
- Issuing Body: APCRDA, Government of Andhra Pradesh
- Publication Date: September 2026
- Official Web Portal: APCRDA Official Portal (crda.ap.gov.in)
2. Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC)
- Document Title: Public Notice in the Matter of Revised Draft Second Amendment to Regulation No. 2 of 2005, First Amendment to Regulation No. 4 of 2023, and First Amendment to Regulation No. 3 of 2024
- Issuing Body: Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC)
- Publication Date: August 2025
- Official Web Portal: APERC Official Website (aperc.gov.in)
3. Government of Andhra Pradesh eProcurement & APCRDA Tenders Portal
- Document Title: Official Tender & EOI Notification (Ref: Notification No. 42/MAU61/211/2026-DSTG)
- Issuing Body: APCRDA / Department of eProcurement, Government of Andhra Pradesh
- Official Web Portals:
4. NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India)
- Document Title: Turning Around the Power Distribution Sector: Learnings and Best Practices from Reforms
- Issuing Body: NITI Aayog, Government of India (in collaboration with RMI and RMI India)
- Publication Date: August 2021
- Official Web Portal: NITI Aayog Official Website (niti.gov.in)
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