India’s Power Grid Crosses 500,000 Circuit Kilometres

28 Jan 2026 CW Team

India’s national power transmission network has crossed a major milestone, surpassing 500,000 circuit kilometres of transmission lines at 220 kV and above, along with 1,407 GVA of transformation capacity. The achievement was recorded on 14 January 2026 with the commissioning of a 628 circuit kilometre 765 kV transmission line connecting the Bhadla II and Sikar II substations to evacuate renewable energy from Rajasthan’s Renewable Energy Zone.

With the commissioning of the new transmission line, an additional 1,100 MW of power can be evacuated from the Bhadla, Ramgarh and Fatehgarh solar power complexes, strengthening the integration of renewable energy into the national grid.

Since April 2014, India’s transmission network has expanded by 71.6 per cent with the addition of around 209,000 circuit kilometres of transmission lines at 220 kV and above. During the same period, transformation capacity has increased by 876 GVA, significantly enhancing the country’s ability to handle rising electricity demand.

India’s inter-regional power transfer capacity now stands at 120,340 MW, enabling seamless electricity flow across regions and supporting the vision of “One Nation – One Grid – One Frequency”. The expanded transmission infrastructure is expected to play a crucial role in evacuating growing non-fossil power generation, which India aims to scale up to 500 GW by 2030.

The milestone underscores India’s progress in strengthening its power infrastructure and accelerating the transition towards cleaner energy sources while ensuring grid stability and reliability.

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