India's National Committee on Transmission (NCT) has approved a Rs 68,816 crore, 1150 kilovolt (kV) transmission project — the biggest and highest-voltage power line the country has ever planned — to move renewable electricity from the west to fast-growing demand centres in the east, The Hindu BusinessLine reported on November 12, citing the minutes of the committee's 45th meeting, held on November 9.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

When built, the 1150 kV Raigarh (Kotra)-Rourkela-Kolaghat double-circuit lines will be the highest voltage level in the Indian transmission system, above the 765 kV lines that form today's backbone. Reuters, reporting the same approval, put the cost at about $7.34 billion and said the corridor is expected to take around six years to build.

Source: Reuters via OilPrice.com

What the corridor will carry

The project is designed to connect the renewable-energy generation centres of Gujarat and Rajasthan with emerging green hydrogen nodes in the eastern region. The NCT minutes, quoted by BusinessLine, point to studies for 2031-32 showing substantial generation additions in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and the North-East, while bulk demand growth is expected in Odisha and other industrial regions, including the Paradeep and Gopalpur areas.

The studies counted 5.2 GW of thermal generation at Raigarh (Kotra-III) and 12 GW of renewable generation at Bhadla-IV and Ramgarh-II, along with hydro and pumped-storage projects in the North-East, battery storage of around 124 GW and pumped-storage capacity of around 42 GW. Reuters reported that the first phase will connect Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal and link with a 6,000 MW high-voltage system carrying power from Rajasthan's Bhadla solar region.

Rs 68,816 croreApproved project cost
1150 kVHighest voltage planned in India
~6 yearsReported build time (Reuters)
500 GWIndia's 2030 non-fossil capacity target

A recorded objection inside the committee

Not everyone on the committee was convinced. BusinessLine reported that the minutes record objections from S R Narasimhan, an Expert Member of the NCT and a former Chairman and Managing Director of Grid Controller of India Ltd. He noted that the studies assume compounded peak-demand growth of 7.64 per cent a year between 2026-27 and 2031-32, which he called quite high, and warned of a strong possibility of low loading of the 1150 kV lines during non-solar hours, partly because of uncertainty about power draw by green hydrogen and green ammonia projects.

Narasimhan argued, in remarks the minutes cite from his LinkedIn post, that a 765 kV line or extending an existing HVDC line to the eastern region would be a more elegant and practical arrangement. The committee nevertheless approved the project.

Why it matters

India is adding solar and wind capacity fastest in its sunny, windy west, while factories, ports and green-hydrogen plants grow in the east. Without bigger transmission corridors, that clean power cannot reach the demand — which is why the NCT says future power flows between the Western and Eastern regions will rise sharply.

Detailed timelines, contract packages and financing arrangements for the corridor have not yet been announced. Sources: The Hindu BusinessLine (November 12, reporting the NCT's 45th-meeting minutes of November 9) and Reuters reporting carried by OilPrice.com.