Earnings Call Transcript - XNSE:POWERGRID 2026-11-03

Bakul, Head of Investor Relations

I wish all of you a very happy Diwali and a prosperous New Year in advance. I would now take your permission, sir, to start the proceedings. On behalf of Power Grid Corporation. Of India Limited, we welcome you to the Select Analyst.me, organized to discuss the company's performance and the way forward post the declaration of financial results for the second quarter as well as the H1 that ended on 30th September 2026, and to interact with the analysts out here. To formally commence today's proceedings, I now invite Srimati Ajna Lutharaji. She is the company's secretary and compliance officer. She'll introduce the dignitaries on the dais and also initiate the proceedings.

Ajna Lutharaji, Other

Thank you, Bakul. Good afternoon, everyone. Today we have a senior management team of Target with us to discuss the company's performance and business outlook for the declaration of Q2HYF, FY2627 financial results. And I would like, I would take this privilege to introduce our senior management team. To start with Srivamsi Ramamohanbura, Chairman and Managing Director. Dr. Yatindra Devedi, Director, Personal, Shri Amul Tauri, Director, Finance, Shri Akhilesh Pathak, Director, Projects, and Shri Pankaj Pandey, OSD Operations. So, we will commence today's proceedings with a corporate video of the company. Can we have the video, please?

Speaker 2

There are places where the road ends, where mountains rise beyond the clouds, where deserts reach beyond the horizon, and where every step forward demands extraordinary determination. A journey that has helped connect a nation, strengthen its progress, and bring electricity to every corner of India. Power Grid has become a vital force in India's growth story. For 37 years, this spirit has powered a remarkable journey, from the remotest substations to the most complex transmission projects. Today, Power Grid's network spans nearly 1.87 lakh circuit kilometers of transmission lines. 293 substations and over 6.49 lakh MVA of transformation capacity. During 2025-26, we achieved our highest-ever annual capital expenditure, accelerating the development of critical transmission infrastructure. Our operations and maintenance teams keep the grid running with minimal tripping and 99.8% system availability. Drone-based patrolling, digital interventions, and centralized asset management strengthen preventive maintenance and remote monitoring. And as we strengthen today's grid, we are engineering tomorrow's solutions. PG Nirman, our advanced project management and monitoring application. PG Amrit, our AI-based defect identification system, automates the monitoring of transmission infrastructure. India's first all-terrain substation inspection robot, developed and patented in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, marks another leap in indigenous innovation. Through our Payment Processing and Facilitation Center, PPPFC, we are streamlining vendor bill processing and advancing a more efficient, transparent, and paperless payment system. Through advanced technologies like STATCOMs and synchronous condensers, PowerGrid is strengthening grid stability and building a stronger and resilient grid. The successful deployment of India's first 400 kilovolt insulated cross-arm technology on the Maharani Bagh to Narela line offers the potential to reduce right-of-way requirements by 35%. Digital substations and emergency restoration technologies further enhance grid resilience. Our vision extends beyond transmission. With over 100,000 kilometers of optical fiber network, PowerGrid is strengthening India's digital connectivity. PowerGrid Teleservices is developing a 1,000-rack, 14-megawatt Tier 3 data center in Manisar, targeted for commercial operations in 2026. Meanwhile, our first large-scale solar PV plant at Nagda, Madhya Pradesh, advances our sustainability journey. Our expertise also reaches beyond national borders. With engineering consultancy services in over 25 countries and a transmission public-private partnership in Kenya in collaboration with Africa 50, Power Grid continues to take Indian engineering excellence to the world. Yet, our responsibility goes beyond infrastructure. In 2025 to 26, we incurred 391.16 crore rupees on CSR initiatives spanning healthcare, education, livelihoods, and sustainable development. Medical equipment, ambulances, and Vishram Southerns are helping strengthen healthcare access and community welfare. We are equally committed to protecting the environment. At Binaguri and across our establishments, rainwater harvesting and recharge pits strengthen water conservation and promote sustainable resource management. Together, we have turned challenges into milestones. Together, we are shaping the future. Thank you.

Ajna Lutharaji, Other

Thank you. Now I invite Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, CMD Paraget, to share his opening remarks and also presentation on the ground. Over to you, sir.

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

Good afternoon, everyone, and I'm extremely pleased to be before you, along with my entire board, with our newly minted Director of Finance, Mr. Amuradji, and our Director of Projects, Mr. Patekji, and our Director of Operations Designate, Mr. Patekji, along with our Director of Personal, Vyadjiji. I'd like to introduce, once again, a high-quality infrastructure company entering into its next phase of growth. That is what PowerGrid is, riding on our experience in maintaining one of the largest transmission utilities in the world and aptly recognized in the highest quadrant in terms of maintenance of the transmission systems. This is what the company, what we want to introduce PowerGrid as, and with a substantial and strong investment pipeline owing to the energy transition and renewable energy integration, and more importantly, the The intense growth of electricity. I should say more appropriately, electricity-intensive growth, what is happening now, both in the industry, agriculture, transport, digitalization, and all these efforts, it is by and large, it is electricity-intensive growth, which is going to propel the growth of the generation and the off-shooters transmission, because transmission is a common denominator for the movement of electricity from point to point. The mobility, as I always say, the mobility to electricity is given by the transmission line or the system only. That is the industry where we are working in. Known for its financial discipline and highly competent and dedicated workforce, execution capability, including 765 kV order, one of the highest transmission voltage levels, and also the HVDC projects remotely are in one of the most toughest conditions. In one single shot, what we should say is the projects are being commissioned. And opportunities for sustained earnings and expansion and roadmap for long-term growth and shareholder value. Wanted to place this before you, so I take this opportunity to run a small presentation. The disclaimer over here. We'll be trying to cover the highlights and overview. Execution and operations, competition, what is there in the sector, audit pipeline, outlook, financial performance, sustainability, and recognitions. In this pattern, we would like to go forward. As you are aware, we are about 3.29 lakh crore of the fixed assets, going much beyond the 3 lakh crore which was there some time back, 1.87 lakh circuit kilometres, almost 6.5 lakh MVX transformation capacity, and availability continues to be in the order of 99% plus. The shareholding pattern continues to remain the same in terms of the shareholding, 2.42 lakh crore is the market cap. The credit profile on the domestic front, highest safety, and on the international front, at par with the sovereign rating. The SPV rationalization also has been undertaken as part of governance, given the nature of the TBCV projects, where every time we win a project, a new TBCV company adds up to us, a new SPV, so we try to consolidate them, and one of the fastest approval in the CPSU domain is what we have got recently. So 28 SPVs have been merged into two SPVs so that it is better way of governance of the projects. Major elements which have been commissioned in Q2, FI27, 981 circuit kilometers of transmission lines and 14,600 MVI transformation capacity. Importantly, the transmission lines are Koppel and Raichur in Karnataka, Bidar to Maheshwaram, a link between the Karnataka state and the closer to the Hyderabad Maheshwaram, and Sikhar K3, an important line in the Rajasthan belt. Substations are new substations, Skopal and Bidar, and on the 400kb, Bikaner to Bikaner in Rajasthan. If you look into the H1, Fi 2627, 2,600 circuit kilometers of transmission lines, 25,000 MVA capacity what has been coming over there, and the complete TBCB, SPB projects which have been commissioned over here are the Ramgat 2 transmission system and the BIDA transmission system. So like in a TBCB project, multiple elements are there. We are saying that the entire project what has been entrusted to the TBCB has been completed, not one or two elements under the project. All the elements which are concerned with that, these two projects have also been commissioned. Apart from that, after September 26, major elements commissioned are the Koppal to Narendra line, one of the toughest and challenging lines, and the Koppal to Gadek, linking two of the pooling stations for the RE power, and the Gadek substation, which is 400 kV. And the project execution capex and capitalization, the guidance as what we have said last year was 37,000 crore and we are moving up and then we should be able to catch up with about to 40,000 crore. So 37,000 crore to 40,000 crore is the capex what we are looking at and the capitalization guidance would be about 25,000 crore to 30,000 crore. And the availability, as I said, would be continuing to be in the highest order in terms of 99.81 percent. And tripping per line less than 0.2, that is 0.17 where we are standing. This is the line of Srinagar to Dras. This is the line which is connecting to the lay. Lay is presently connected with the power grid transmission line, a radial line which is there, one of the toughest locations where these lines have been built. So, recently on 29th of October, there was a challenge in this line having tripped, so during, at this at about 11,800 feet and minus 10 degrees centigrade, this is what power grid employees have been working to make sure this line was restored so as to bring power to the coldest part of the India, was done in record time over here. And we have also upgraded our posture in terms of our visibility of our assets in terms of National Transmission Asset Management Center. We have upgraded it, which requires as per the timeline which is to be done every time we need to upgrade the system. So this has been upgraded completely. These are the real pictures of it. And we also improved upon the posture of cybersecurity by operationalizing this I3 SOC, this Security Operation Centers of Power Grid. On the capability and technology, PowerGrid has been closely associated with one of the OEM and has designed and finally got this product out, a 220 kV mobile GIS bay, last time it has been said, but this time it has been also put to use. It has not only been developed, but also has been deployed in one of our substations. And on the capability front, as you understand, HVDC is one of the critical technologies which is required for evacuation of power in long distances. Power grid under the ages of Ministry of Power along with METI, that is Information and Technology Ministry, come together and we are going ahead and trying to indigenously design and develop a silicon carbide MOSFET. For this, a lot of work has already been done. A good amount of traction we see on this development front. So about 13,000 SIC power modules are expected to be developed, which will be deployed in a given substation of power grid. So this also has been, the decks have been cleared for this, and we are eagerly looking for the participation, which is quite a good number where people are keen to develop this within the country. This will actually improve upon the indigenization of the technology within the country. These are VSC-based power modules That's what we are working upon. And as well as the operations front, we also deployed the insulated aerial work platform, which will be giving that much ease and also minimize the outage requirements. We have also indigenously in the country developed 100 kg payload capacity for a drone, which is essential for us to take over the material or such other things, including steel and cement to remote areas where we need to erect the tower. So this has already been successfully done. We are deploying this as well. The TBCB outcome for the half-year 2027, nine projects under ISTS is what Power Grid has been successful, and two projects under the intrastate. The intrastate stands about 7,600 crores is the annual tariff, and the intrastate is about 4,500 crores annual tariff, taking the total to about 8,107 crores as annual tariff in the first half of this financial year. And this, it's interesting to note that we have also got the HVDC project of Barmere and also deployment of the first synchronous condensers, about eight synchronous condensers, the first series of synchronous condensers will be deployed by PowerGrid. Looking into the order pipeline, the TBCB stands about 1.95 lakh crore, RTM about 0.25 lakh crore, and with the total standing as 2.20 is the total works in hand for PowerGrid. The PANG evacuation scheme is what people were keen to know. This was initially envisaged under the HVDC route, but given the challenges in terms of the altitude, ultraviolet rays, and also the cosmic rays, the complexity of deploying such technologies at high altitudes was reviewed, and an AC solution has been identified. It has been actively discussed in the recently concluded NCT meeting, which would be standing at about 31,000 crore. The other business which Power Grid undertakes in terms of the data center, storage, and smart meters, about 0.04 lakh crore. The ones which are going to come in future under the TBCB bidding pipeline, interstate and intrastate put together is about 63,000 crore, which is already under bidding, with most of it under the ISTS and a small part under the intrastate, and to be floated, this number is only of the intrastate, 4,147 is of the intrastate. The good number of intrastate projects are also underway. So, the bidding pipeline is about 67,000 crore. Added to this, with the Green Energy Corridor 3, which is about 1.36 lakh crore for the intrastate, this is an intrastate project and 50,000 crore for the BESS. Most of it would be coming under the TBCB route, meaning that there is a good amount of opportunity for the participants to work in this direction. This will be facilitating about 135 gigawatt of RE across the states. This was also an opportunity for the transmission companies. Robust collections revenue, as we are very pleased to inform you that the billing and the realization is always one of the finest what we have been doing, and the number of outstanding dues is also more than 45 days has come down significantly, and the receivable dues as you see from the graph stands about 10.54 days. So, both in terms of our execution capability, the order book, the pipeline, and the collection part, all these parameters, I thought I should place it before you all. The financial performance, in the consolidated front for the quarter, the profit after tax is 8%, which has already been shared with you, and the PBT is at about 6%. We wanted to give you a feel as to what has happened in this entire part. On the operating income, 887 on the operating income is the plus, that is more than 7%. 7.7% is the growth on the operating front for transmission. And because of the regulatory part, this is what last time also we have taken pains in trying to explain you, that it is the regulatory assets which we have, the trajectory of the regulatory tariff is that minus 354 crores is on account of the regulatory tariff which moves there. And minus 193 crores are just one-off kind of things which we would be getting because of the difference in the order from the regulator. The time taken by the regulator to give the orders and the differential tariff is that, 193 and such other aspects. So, effectively, the growth stands about 3%, while the operating income, as you see, stands about 7.7%. As far as PAT grows, again, even here, we see a 9% growth in the PAT, but because of the regulatory asset, because the trajectory of the tariff for the regulatory assets, that is the one which has an impact on the income, but on the PAT, you see it has a 1.7%, and the other issues are minus 82, and put together, it is 8% over here. So, translating that, about 8% of the top-line growth, and roughly the 8% under the, even on the PAT. On the standalone, we see that it is about 7% for the PAT on the standalone front. The gross fixed assets as on date about 2.8 lakh crore standalone and consolidated 3.29. The debt equity 59.41 which is having enough room for us to actually work upon the massive projects pipeline which we are envisaging. 1 is to 1.5%. The other key financial information, interest from subsidiaries increased from 794 to 1201, incentive 159 to 98. Dividend from JVs, from 24 to 60. Dividend from subsidiaries, 300 to 345. So these are the figures, other key financial parameters. We also tied up with the JBIC green loan for about Japanese yen, about 80 billion. Term loan from SBI, about 10,000 crore, UBI, 5,000 crore, and bonds, about 2,000 crore. And something more results in offering. On the telecom and consultancy, we have about 383 crore under telecom and on the consultancy also close to 400 crore. This is the kind of revenue what we are getting from both these locations because we are riding strong on the telecom footprint what we have across the country and also our expertise in providing the consultancy within the country and beyond the borders. This is the data center, almost this is the shape what it is standing now as we speak. We are shortly going to also bring this data center into operation, maybe in terms of weeks. We should be bringing this into operation. It's a 100% Indian-owned infrastructure by a government company, 7-layer security system, about 1,000 racks and 14 megawatt. It's a commercial data center to be utilized under a tier 3 certified data center and expected commissioning, as I was saying, in a few weeks we are going to get this through. It is a metium paneled cloud service provider and a sovereign cloud. This would be the characteristics of this data center. Sustainment, sustained commitment to ESG on the, one of the targets which we have set for ourselves, that is 50% from RE, this already we achieved last year itself, and zero waste to landfill, 90%, more than 90% has been achieved, net water positive, we are more than 50%, and net zero target, we are very well onto the track there. And the Crystal ESG score has moved us from 58 up to 66. We have moved up the ladder. And the same thing with NSE sustainability, we are standing at 70. As far as accolades, we are selected as the finalist in three categories in the S&P Global Energy Awards, one of the finest awards in this industry on excellence in energy, infrastructure project of the year, targeted program, corporate impact award, and Terry UNDP fifth water sustainability award also has been taken up by Power Grid. Thank you, everyone. Thank you.

Mahesh Patil, Analyst — ICSA Securities

That was a fantastic overview, sir.

Bakul, Head of Investor Relations

We now move on to the next segment, which is questions and answers. Gentle reminder for all of you to raise your hand, introduce yourself and the house that you. So the first one is over here. We will try our best to ensure that we answer all your questions. In the interest of your own time, we will not be taking repetitive or the duplicate questions. Over to you, sir.

Mohit Kumar, Analyst — ICICI Securities

Hi. Good afternoon, sir. I am Mohit Kumar from ICIC Securities. My question is, I think that I saw on the slide, I think I've cut the guidance for capitalization from $330,000 crores to a $250,000 crores. 25,000 crore to 30,000 crore range, right? My question is, are you seeing more challenges on the ground, and is it related to supply chain issues or with the land acquisition or write-off issues?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

See, as you understand, the ministry has come up with the guidelines for providing compensation to the land. This was the way how we have to go forward, which was asked also by everyone. So a set of guidelines have been issued notified by the Ministry of Power, wherein it is market-based compensation is what they are looking at it. So few of the states have adopted, and we will have to work through the process, a couple of states which have adopted, we will have to work through the process, which they are almost done, and with that coming in, the right-off will be that much eased. If the compensation being paid to the landowners as per the market rate, we see that is going to ease the situation and that is going to improve upon the fronts which will be available for building of the transmission lines. While the targets what we have seen is of 25,000 crore to 30,000 crore, there is no challenge as far as the most of the equipment absolutely no challenge in terms of supplies part of it. Thank you. Should things go forward right, then we should be able to catch it with one of the finest figures.

Mohit Kumar, Analyst — ICICI Securities

My second question is, given the fact that you are sitting now on 2.2 lakh crore, and the bank is also coming up, so your total order book will be roughly around 2.5 lakh crore, how do you expect the CAPEX and commissioning will move in FY28 and FY29? How the CAPEX and capitalization and capital expenditure will move in FY28 and FY29 based on the current order book?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

As you see, we have also secured a couple of projects recently in this. So with the initial expenditures on the projects, they have worked good, and the capex will be continuing to be in the range much beyond 40.

Mohit Kumar, Analyst — ICICI Securities

Is it possible to put a number on the capex and commissioning for F28, F29?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

No, but then definitely they will be very encouraging. Let me see. Not very specific numbers over here, but you see with the massive HUDC project with us, with a lot of synchronous condensers also over there, and a couple of intrastate projects which are there with us, the numbers are going to be much better on.

Mohit Kumar, Analyst — ICICI Securities

My last question, sir, is it possible?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

CapEx, one also, another issue also, what I would like to draw your attention here, with the market rate being played for the compensation, land compensation, that is also a component which is going to drive the CapEx up. That is the reason we need to identify what will be the quantum of that element which is unknown, which has no power to the clarity will become that much. So the CapEx is going to increase.

Mohit Kumar, Analyst — ICICI Securities

And just my last question, is it possible to share the cross-block of TVC projects at end of Q2F527 and the run rate EBITDA? Thank you very much for that asset.

Amul Tauri, Other

So, basically, if you have seen, we have started giving the, you know, the break-up between the office income going up, and mostly you can see it's mostly because of the TBCC income, exact numbers with respect to the draw clock on TBCC and as well as the margin normally, that's what normally we don't share for other reasons, but then we have given the bridge, that bridge is really on phone, the TBCC is going to actually produce access are now coming down. So, I think that which was not their last quarter should be, and please try to figure out the numbers.

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

Thank you.

Sumit Kishore, Analyst — Axis Capital

So, Sumit Kishore from Axis Capital. So, you mentioned that the annual tariff won in H1-FI27 is somewhere around 8,100 odd crores. What is the associated project cost? You know, for these set of projects. Cumulative project cost. See, the idea is to gauge whether the flurry of project wins that you have had.

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

And this quarter, our previous quarter, put together, we have about 2.2 lakh floor of value.

Sumit Kishore, Analyst — Axis Capital

So the idea is to gauge whether the IRR profile of the newer PBCB projects and the larger ones that you have won is similar or better than what you had won earlier. One more question is on HVDC project pipeline here on. You know, you have won a large HVDC project. What are the next few projects which are likely to come under tendering? And what is likely to get awarded, say, by FI 28, 29? Do you have any such sort of visibility that you can share with us?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

See you in the service. Having said that, a good number of projects have already been envisaged under the HVDC front, about 22 projects at HVDC, both domestic and the international collectivities, about 22 projects and about 100 entities. Thank you. So these are the HVC projects which have been planned, and from Ramamutra Basin. So the exact timeline and all, once they get mature enough, which can be placed in the public domain, I'm sure that will be done. Presently it is not so, but then there are a couple of projects which are being actively being considered. So they should be placed under the bidding route or maybe being discussed actively in the NCT, which would be obviously known. That would be the timeline we are sure what project is going to be.

Sumit Kishore, Analyst — Axis Capital

So can two projects get awarded in FI28?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

Yes.

Sumit Kishore, Analyst — Axis Capital

Thank you.

Bakul, Head of Investor Relations

Not a minute.

Namit Arora, Analyst — InGrowth Capital

Thank you for the opportunity. Good afternoon, sirs. Namit Arora from InGrowth Capital. Thank you for a very insightful presentation. Sir, my question is on the new initiatives, especially data centers and BES. So I understand in a few weeks you will be commissioning this particular data center. It has all the sovereign specs. Could you give us some more background on what are the future plans for further activity on the data center side, some indication on timelines and the capacities you are considering?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

While we are a transmission company, we see a good opportunity in the communication front so that's the reason Power Grid is having a decent position, a niche position in the telecom sector. Power Grid provides bandwidth to one of the major players, OTT players, and also for the government entities. Power Grid provides the telecom infrastructure, the bandwidth. So having said that both being in the power domain as well as the communication domain, we moved into the data center domain because as we see data center is measured in terms of the power megawatts and also we find that we understand this business. We have a good strength of IT team also with power grid and there is a lot of domestic requirement. In-house requirement is also substantial. Keeping that and also the sector's requirement, we found that there is a good amount of space which is left untapped, which is owned by a donor. Thank you. We are getting the clearance from the regulators and all that is done, so the pilot data centre is standing, it is fully ready now, so we are just looking for an opportune time to introduce that into the market. So, as far as the other projects, we are also ready with another data centre in the southern part of the country to have a different location, so we already secured the land over there and we are also actively pursuing the potential in other locations, but we wanted to first get this pilot data centre, the complete grip of that data centre. So, as far as the future plans are there, we are very excited about it, because data center of PowerGrid, owned by a government, because we also have the telecom connectivity, the understanding of the power sector, a good strength of the IT engineers in PowerGrid, and in-house requirement itself. So, we see a great potential in this data center.

Namit Arora, Analyst — InGrowth Capital

Thank you, sir. All the best for the imminent commissioning of this data center. Thank you. And, sir, my second question was on BSS. You mentioned about it in one of the slides. Do you foresee that going forward also that would be an integral part and you will see a lot of these integrated initiatives?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

So one is an isolation where the states, given the kind of VGF which the government has joined, a few of the states have embarked upon it. Quite a little challenges in that trying to actually be reality, the battery part. The good potential in the country, having said that, the regulator in a couple, few months ago has come up with the regulations, Thank you. Wherein we will be able to develop the storage facilities under the section 62 route, under the RTM route, which will be available for the grid stability. This will be very helpful. We are ready with that. We are ready with that solution. And this can open a new window for power grid to enter into the storage systems. Because under the 62, we can actually create an ecosystem for subsequently being scaled up to the competitive nature. So we feel that this is a good opportunity for us to work along with all the stakeholders. So, that we can improve upon the storage requirements of the country.

Namit Arora, Analyst — InGrowth Capital

Thank you very much for the detailed responses and all the best to the entire team.

Bakul, Head of Investor Relations

Thank you so much.

Namit Arora, Analyst — InGrowth Capital

Thank you, sir.

Bakul, Head of Investor Relations

Over here. We'll get it from your right side.

Atul Tewari, Analyst — JPMorgan Research

Yes, sir. Sir, this is Atul Tewari from JPMorgan Research. Sir, just two questions. First is on the right-of-way issue. So the right-of-way issues we thought had been broadly resolved because I think in the previous couple of analyst meets, it was communicated that the system has gone through the necessary adjustments and the new rules are in place. But it does look like that the issue is still dragging on. So could you please elaborate on this, that when do we expect the final, final resolution so that we don't have these kind of negative surprises on the capitalization front? So that is the first question. And the second question is that in your work in hand, you know, 2.2 lakh rupees, you know, how much will be the transformation capacity that you will need? And by, you know, what time you will be able to award it on your, you know, transformer vendors?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

The second question part of it, yes, we are working on the bulk procurement model. So, anticipating the requirement, existing in hand, put together, and then we are working upon this. So, we are very well comfortably placed in terms of our orders, and we are moving very, very comfortably in terms of not only inviting the tenders, placing orders, and also obtaining the units also on time. We are not finding much of challenge as far as the transformers go out there. Coming to the right of way, as you all must be aware, prior to 2017 and all, their compensation was paid only limited to the damages which were occurring for the crop or any other particular, maybe a building or something only, damages what have occurred. That was the only compensation what was envisaged under the 164 section 164 of the Act. Thereafter, the compensation towards the land which was getting damaged, the diminishing value of land, that one between the towers and across the corridor. Now, just imagine, between the towers, as you see in the picture, between the four legs of the tower, and from tower to tower, there is a corridor again. So, there is a significant amount of land apart from the crop. Crop was paid, but the land compensation, because you need to identify the exact landowner over here. And land being a state subject, while we have earlier said that the guidelines have been notified by the government of India, guidelines are notified by the government of India, but will have to be adopted by the respective state, which is going to notify those guidelines, such notifications will then be applied. So, few of the states have been taking up this new model, wherein there is an effort which is being made to identify the market rate, that particular unknown factor of what is the market rate in a given area, so they are working upon that. So, there is some independent market values are being appointed, their averages, different solutions are being sought out, that is as per the guidelines, and the states are adopting it. So, this particular process will We will have to culminate so that we are able to identify the appropriate rate so that it can be made payable to that landowner. Identification of landowner is also an issue over here. Under crop compensation where there could be a farmer who must be tilling that soil, but here identification of the landowner, the real owners in terms of brother, son, you know, we have to undertake all that exercise, that we have almost digitized. Power Grid has also, parallelly we have digitized all that activity also, so as to have a clear track as to what is being paid across. So, PowerGrid has been working on this. The state governments, whenever a new state government adopts, it takes a little time for them to realign their state machinery to understand these new guidelines, notify them appropriately, and also adopt them. The moment that is done, we expect there could be better traction. But having said that, there cannot be one magic Say that there is not going to be any more ROW in the country. If there is any country in the world where transmission lines are being built at this pace, I should say that is India where it is being built. Such massive transmission lines. Power Grid almost built about 5,500 circuit kilometers of transmission lines last year. I think nowhere in the world we will see. And even in India, I should say we have almost 6,500 circuit kilometers last year. About 7,000 circuit kilometers in the ISTS which have been commissioned, power grid has been about 5,500 circuit kilometers. Now, I'm not talking about any market share here. I'm talking about what we actually deliver on-site. We have completed our Kapal, our Gada, our Karnal, our Anandapuram. All of these projects have been completely done. Our leader, all these projects have been done. Despite these challenges, we are inching and not only moving fast also. Wherever it is there, for example, after MRC, we see in certain locations things are becoming that much more easier also. Some places where it's getting very easy, but then people have to adopt it, and we have a good number of holidays, right? We need to account for the Diwali's, the chats and all. That also sometimes, not transmission projects. Every infrastructure project has a pushback during this holiday season. We will also have to account for all of that.

Atul Tewari, Analyst — JPMorgan Research

Sir, could these issues impact your FY28 capitalization as well, or do you believe that all this will be sorted out within FY27?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

It will. I mean, you have to believe that there is not a single project of power grid which has been put on hold. Everything is going ahead. We have never stopped or stalled any project or delayed project. Every project is going on. Should we have, and another interesting thing, what I'd like to say is that the transmission project is not that every year we have a, it automatically throws off projects coming in. It has a gestation period. It is not linked to the financial year. Exactly by March 31st, few projects will come up. Absolutely no. The timeline for the projects are as much as what is given in the TSA, and sometimes the delays which are also well recognized by the regulator, all of that put together. Should there be a delay in a couple of weeks or so in a project, that is going to get in the next quarter, it is going to be done so. No project has been left. No project. You may identify with any project. Let me know. If there is one company which has done every project in the last part, it is Power Grid. Check up anything. There are projects, for example, even in Koppal area, which is one of the toughest things. Power Grid is the one who completed the project. Koppal to Gadak project, Koppal to Narendra project, Koppal to Raichur, all these projects have been completed by Power Grid people, other parties who are working over there, they also feel the challenges. It's not that there is a magic wand with Power Grid or with anybody else. I would say yes, our teams are very well inspired, they understand, they are on the ground to get the project done. We do not have any projects which are not come. So, you are concerned that, sir, next year may kya hoga, should we miss the bus, there is next bus immediately, we are going to board that. Because our projects are not definitely quarterly-wise, a project should come. That's not the way how the industry is.

Atul Tewari, Analyst — JPMorgan Research

Okay, sir. Thank you.

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

Jeremy man over here, yeah?

Bakul, Head of Investor Relations

No, we can't hear you.

Mahesh Patil, Analyst — ICSA Securities

Hello. Yeah, this is Mahesh Patil from ICSA Securities. So my question is on the bidding that we're seeing this year, right? So there are a lot of construction road EPC players that are bidding almost, grabbing almost one-fourth of the, you know, bids done by project cost. So how do you see that, and especially in interstate, is there increase in competitive intensity, and do we see any impact on our return profiles because of that?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

Power-fitting profile will not be dictated by other companies how they are participating. As what I have issued to the team, our returns will be very well encouraging, that's what I am saying. As far as the other players are coming, competition is welcome. We have been standing as a PSU, I should say one PSU which has been an extremely regulated company. If there is one company from the extremely regulated front, we have moved into the completely competitive domain, I should say it is powerful. A government company from that extremely regulated front of a competitive world, we have not only moved into the competitive world, we have started many projects also. Not only we won the projects, we have completed them also. Not only have we completed the projects, we have successfully commissioned and also earned good returns on these projects. The entire cycle, if there is one company, we are there. Should there be new parties who are participating in that, they are welcome. The more they understand what transmission is, the better they will be faring in their next projects, for sure.

Mahesh Patil, Analyst — ICSA Securities

Okay. And so my second question is on the timelines, right? So I think we sometime back mentioned that the transmission project timelines you have requested and the government has approved, you know, increasing the timelines from 18 to 24 months to 24 to 30 months. So how do we see the capex phasing? Are we pushing some capex going forward? And is that applicable for the, is that applicable in retrospective for the existing projects or only for the new projects that we're bidding?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

The simple answer is, but the whole project is not.

Mahesh Patil, Analyst — ICSA Securities

Okay.

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

For the new project, yes. And as far as the timelines are there, it was initially few of the private players were thinking that they can do projects fast, and they were saying no, and they brought it down to 18 months, and if there is one company which has done the projects in about 18 months, it is PowerCred again. We have only done a 765 KV system in 18 months, no other player except PowerCred which has completed within 18 months. But having said that, it is not possible the kind of clearances what we need to obtain from multiple agencies to build a project within 18 months. Technically, yes, we can do it. PowerCred has the capability. Even a substation after getting a land, we have done within nine months. Nine months, a 765 km substation is impossible. It looks like this is not true. To that extent, Power Girl has the capabilities. We are able to stitch these things together. More importantly, I am very glad to note that every substation what we have commissioned, be it Karnal, Bidhar, or Nathapuram and all, one single shot, they come on the bar. It is not that we have been struggling. We have an issue. We are not talking about small systems. It is not that erstwhile 500 MVA substation. We are talking about each substation having a capability of one and a half thousand MBA or even eight thousand MBA. One single shot, they are coming on bar. So the capabilities of understanding the nuances of commissioning also is very important out here, and Power Build has been very good among us.

Mahesh Patil, Analyst — ICSA Securities

Okay, and so lastly, on the status of the Kharod and Agpur project, if you can share, let's say in the first two years, firstly, are we on track for the four-year timeline, and in the first two years, what is the capex that we are insurgent here?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

The capex figures, I'm not viewed exactly. Thank you. This transmission line, there's a good amount of time, but step by step, we'll be closer. All the units and all are being supplied, already the transformers are being supplied, the firewalls are being built, everything is going as possible.

Amit Bhinder, Analyst — Access Capital Limited

Yes, sir, Amit Bhinder from Access Capital. I just wanted to understand, like, earlier the government target was 9.16 trillion of CAPEX from FY20 to 32. So bidding was being done according to that. Now we have this new 135 gigawatt REC corridor coming in. So how much is the pipeline left, and is there an overlap between the two plans, any projects that are going out in this process? So, earlier, the government had put out a plan of 9.16 trillion from FY22 to FY22. So, the bidding was happening according to that. Now, this new plan has come in for 135 gigahertz RE connectivity. So, is there an overlap between the two plans and is there some net-off that we should take one? And of the earlier plan, how much has been done and how much is remaining for bidding to come up in the next two to three years?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

See, what is bidding? I've already said here in the intro. The interstate part of the interstate is about 63,000 crore of interstate and interstate. Interstate now it depends upon how much the state is looking at it. Most of the states are also catching up with the interstate. And coming up with this GC3, GC3 what you are talking about. This in all probabilities is an offshoot of that particular plan, wherein the government is pushing in, providing fund for these projects, which will invariably have to be discharged under the DBCB route. So this is covered up from that. Right. So it's a part of that 9.16. It's just given some... Because it's an interesting subject. So for me to comment upon it and give a empathic answer would be wrong. But then, yes, we have to naturally draw the correlation there. The big picture is drawn by CE and this final funding arrangements is done under the GEC, Green Energy Corridors.

Amit Bhinder, Analyst — Access Capital Limited

Right. Right. And on the second part of the question that I was asking, of the 9.16, how much is done and how much is left? If you have any idea.

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

That the potential is so much high, as we speak also, every state is declaring more and more of a R.E. coming in. We need to actually integrate them, and to integrate them, we need more better solutions, not only we have transmission lines, we need the support systems, we need synchronous condensers, stat counts, batteries, storage systems, all of that also will be required, because to integrate the RE, we need these new systems.

Amit Bhinder, Analyst — Access Capital Limited

Right. And just one question is that earlier your target, I think, was 37,000 crores is what you were looking on the intrastate transmission, I believe, one or two years ago. Now with you participating in the bids more, are you seeing more capital allocation or more targets, the targets being expanded on the intrastate kind of the business, part of the business?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

I was interested here, it is picking up in terms of its number of tenders, but then interstate is also quite a good number of tenders in the interstate as well. So we are looking into the merit of the project and see where we can have a better sync with the project. Those are the projects we will be working on.

Amit Bhinder, Analyst — Access Capital Limited

Got it. Thank you. Those are my questions.

Mohit Pandey, Analyst — Citi Research

Yes, sir, this is Mohit Pandey from City Research. Sir, my question is around what are we doing to protect ourselves, our returns against commodity inflation. I understand for a lot of our projects, we enter into pre-bid types with equipment suppliers. So if there are any further, say, for example, copper goes up another 20% over next one year, then what exactly are we doing to protect our returns? Yeah.

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

See, while some of the points, it is fixed, some of the supplies are fixed in nature, but some are also having the price variation provision, meaning that if there is variation in the market, we are also having to accommodate that particular variation. But having said that, we have factored in such kind of variations in multiple projects. It's not one single project what we are talking about. In multiple projects, we have the kind of appropriate cushions what we have provided in each of the projects. So we are sure that all of that will be adequate enough for us to push the projects through. Because we cannot obviously look into this increase in copper or aluminum in a given year, but then at the same time, we are accommodating these costs in different projects, in different heads.

Mohit Pandey, Analyst — Citi Research

Sir, any broad sense you can provide what proportion would be fixed and what on the, yeah, with these variation clauses? And also if, for example, copper falls 20% next year, do we get to retain the benefits or how does it work?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

We do get to retain the benefits. The price variation, this is a definitive price variation formula, which is based upon certain indices which are predetermined. So the moment of the index, the quantum of that particular material and that equipment, the weightage which is given to it, that is the one which will dictate the price, the one which is already finalized or agreed upon. So it may move up or down, but we have to accommodate or properly take care of that positive moments, we take care of it, and the negative moments will be a win for the part.

Mohit Pandey, Analyst — Citi Research

Thank you, sir.

Bakul, Head of Investor Relations

I think we should now move to the next one last, okay.

Darshan Parmar, Analyst — Jefferies

Hi, sir. This is Darshan Parmar from Jefferies. I just had one question regarding the bidding pipeline. If you could just give a sense on how the bidding pipeline would trend going ahead because it was 1.2 lakh crore in 1Q and now it's 63,000 crore. So going ahead, how do you see the bidding pipeline?

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

The new chunk will have to add, like somebody was asking, when is the new HVDC come, the moment the HVDC gets materialized, again, it just pushes that forward. So the market is continuing to reinvent itself and it's going to come up, it's going to be And apart from that, the interest rate is another one which has more of 1.36 lakh crore of interest rate which is coming. Yeah, apart from the 63,000. And a lot of intrastate, as we speak, a lot of states are also coming up with the projects. And most of them under the bidding rules. So the pipeline, there is no dearth in the quantum of projects. As I am saying you, the more the RE is going to be injected into the country, there will have to be again a transmission system to evacuate. And transmission system is a common denominator for every single megawatt which is going to be put into the grid, you need a transmission system. So, it is a common denominator. So, whether it is an intrastate or an interstate, any new generation coming up, there is a need for transmission to be there because there is no other way how electricity can be moved from point A to point B. So, this is the industry where we are talking about.

Bakul, Head of Investor Relations

Well, on that note, I now invite Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Executive Director, Corporate Planning to give the vote of thanks. We will have two quick segments after that. One is a photograph of the gentleman sitting here on the dais and the other one is when I call up all the team members of Power Grid to be on the stage. Sanjay sir.

Sanjay Sharma, Other

Thank you, Mr. Bakul, respected chairman and managing director, members of the board of the directors, other members of ParkGrid family, that is our investors, analysts, and friends. On behalf of ParkGrid, I thank all of you for joining us today for the quarter two FY26-27 analyst meet. And I must say, at the peak of the result season, thanks for taking our time for this. To our investors and analysts, your questions are always valuable to us. And your continued faith in power grid motivates us to doing better. The numbers we have shared today speak for themselves and we are continuously working towards coming out with better numbers. I thank the team from AdFactors, our team from Western Region 2 for helping us organize this event in a successful manner. Thank you, everyone.

Srivamsi Ramamohanbhura, Chairman

On behalf of PowerGrid family, I would like to extend here from the Pavali greetings to everyone and thank you all for being here with PowerGrid. Thank you.