The Government of India, through the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's (MNRE) Green Energy Corridor Division, has announced the sanction of the 'Green Energy Corridor Phase-II Inter-State Transmission System for 13 GW Renewable Energy Project in Ladakh (ISTS GEC-II)' project. This significant development comes following the approval received from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) during its meeting in October 2023.
The primary objective of the ISTS GEC-II project is to establish approximately 713 km (or 1268 circuit kilometres) of transmission lines, along with two 5 GW capacity High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) terminals, located at Pang in Ladakh and Kaithal in Haryana respectively.
This infrastructure initiative aims to support the evacuation of power generated from renewable energy sources, specifically a 13 GW capacity renewable energy project combined with a 12 GWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Ladakh. The implementation responsibility has been entrusted to the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID), with the project slated for completion by the financial year 2029-30.
The total estimated project cost stands at INR 207.7370 billion, with the Central Financial Assistance (CFA) amounting to INR 83.0948 billion, representing 40 percent of the project cost. The remaining project costs will be covered by POWERGRID through a combination of debt and equity, with the Return on Equity (RoE) capped at 14 percent (post-tax) as recommended by the Public Investment Board (PIB). Tariff regulations will be governed by the existing Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) guidelines for Regulated Tariff Mechanism (RTM) projects.
To ensure effective implementation and monitoring, the MNRE will collaborate with the Ministry of Power to oversee the systematic planning and execution of renewable energy generation and transmission projects.
