The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has approved the trued-up transmission tariff for 2019-24 and fixed the tariff for 2024-29 for assets under Power Grid Corporation of India Limited’s (POWERGRID) 400 kV Jeypore-Talcher Transmission System in the Eastern Region. The order, dated 26 October 2026 in Petition No. 530/TT/2025, was passed by Members Ramesh Babu V. and Harish Dudani. Together, the two asset blocks covered by the petition will be allowed annual fixed charges of Rs 1,982.21 lakh (about Rs 19.82 crore) in 2024-25, rising to Rs 3,007.08 lakh (about Rs 30.07 crore) in 2028-29.
What the petition covered
POWERGRID asked the Commission to true up the tariff for 2019-24 under the CERC (Terms and Conditions of Tariff) Regulations, 2019, and to determine the tariff for 2024-29 under the 2024 Tariff Regulations. The petition covers two blocks: Asset-I(A), the original asset, and Asset-I(B), described in the order as the new asset.
The transmission system consists of the 400 kV Jeypore-Indravati single-circuit line and the 400 kV Indravati-Rengali single-circuit line, with substation works at Jeypore, Indravati and Rengali. It was first implemented by NHPC Limited to strengthen power evacuation in the Eastern Region and was later taken over by POWERGRID. The Central Government approved it in a letter dated 5 May 1992 at a cost of Rs 12,040 lakh, including interest during construction of Rs 1,720 lakh. The system went into commercial operation on 1 December 1990.
The petition was heard on 23 December 2025. The six respondents are distribution licensees, transmission licensees and power departments, including Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Sikkim, Jharkhand and Damodar Valley Corporation. None of them filed a reply, and no comments came from the general public after notices were published in newspapers.
Trued-up charges for 2019-24
For Asset-I(A), the Commission approved trued-up annual fixed charges of Rs 2,334.82 lakh for 2019-20, Rs 2,361.22 lakh for 2020-21, Rs 2,236.03 lakh for 2021-22, Rs 1,629.69 lakh for 2022-23 and Rs 1,661.72 lakh for 2023-24. POWERGRID had claimed Rs 2,387.90 lakh for 2021-22, so the approved figure for that year is Rs 151.87 lakh lower.
Asset-I(B) carried only small charges in the earlier period, with nothing claimed for 2019-20. The Commission approved Rs 1.04 lakh for 2020-21, Rs 3.50 lakh for 2021-22, Rs 31.26 lakh for 2022-23 and Rs 61.89 lakh for 2023-24, slightly below the claimed amounts. The capital cost of the system was Rs 12,289.33 lakh on 1 April 2019 and, after additional capitalisation and de-capitalisation, Rs 12,468.90 lakh on 31 March 2024.
Tariff for 2024-29
For 2024-29, the Commission allowed annual fixed charges for Asset-I(A) of Rs 1,439.76 lakh in 2024-25, Rs 1,485.99 lakh in 2025-26, Rs 1,528.45 lakh in 2026-27, Rs 1,560.60 lakh in 2027-28 and Rs 1,597.00 lakh in 2028-29. For Asset-I(B) the allowed amounts are Rs 542.45 lakh, Rs 1,012.22 lakh, Rs 1,124.54 lakh, Rs 1,349.69 lakh and Rs 1,410.08 lakh over the same five years. POWERGRID had claimed more than this for Asset-I(B) in every year, for example Rs 1,501.53 lakh against Rs 1,410.08 lakh allowed for 2028-29.
Adding the two blocks gives Rs 1,982.21 lakh for 2024-25 and Rs 3,007.08 lakh for 2028-29, or about Rs 130.5 crore over the five years. The charges are to be shared under the CERC sharing regulations of 2020, as provided in Regulation 57 of the 2019 Tariff Regulations and Regulation 78 of the 2024 Tariff Regulations.
Replacement of ageing equipment
Part of the additional capital expenditure in the petition is for replacing equipment that has outlived its design life. The order notes that the asset entered service on 1 December 1990 and that its 30-year useful life was completed on 1 December 2021. POWERGRID proposed spending on replacing aged components to improve reliability and stability at the Jeypore, Indravati and Rengali substations.
The Commission allowed a number of these items under Regulation 25(2)(c) of the 2024 Tariff Regulations, subject to true-up on an actual basis. It allowed replacement of five 400 kV pneumatic-operated circuit breakers, at Jeypore (one), Indravati (three) and Rengali (one), at Rs 3.11 crore. It also allowed 14 porcelain current transformers at Rs 1.06 crore. For both, the Commission noted that the equipment had completed 25 years of useful life and that failure could affect the stability and reliability of the grid. For 2024-25, POWERGRID projected additional capital expenditure of Rs 4,742.78 lakh, including work spilling over from 2019-24, which covered replacing a 105 MVA transformer at Jeypore and a transformer at Rengali with 315 MVA units.
What it means for India’s clean-energy sector
Tariff orders for existing inter-state lines rarely make headlines, but they set what Eastern Region utilities pay for moving power. As new solar, wind and storage capacity is added across the country, older corridors have to remain reliable while carrying changing flows. Regulatory approval of replacement spending lets POWERGRID maintain such assets and recover the cost through regulated tariffs.
For the respondent utilities, the order brings certainty on the charges they will be billed through 2028-29, and the true-up settles what was owed for 2019-24. The Commission accepted reliability-driven replacement of equipment that has completed its useful life, but allowed less than POWERGRID claimed for Asset-I(B) in every year of 2024-29 and for Asset-I(A) in 2021-22. The replacement items it allowed remain subject to true-up on an actual basis.
Official references
- CERC order in Petition No. 530/TT/2025 dated 26 October 2026: https://cercind.gov.in/2026/Orders/530-TT-2025.pdf
Leave a Comment