The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has asked state power transmission utilities to publish details of spare transmission capacity at regular intervals in the public domain.

Publishing the spare transmission capacity available at the states’ 400 kV/220 kV/132 kV substations will improve transparency and ease of doing business. It will also enable renewable energy developers to plan their projects effectively.

In a letter to the chiefs of the transmission utilities of the states, MNRE drew attention to the Central Transmission Utility of India’s (CTUIL) regular publication of spare transmission capacity available for granting connectivity to renewable energy projects at interstate transmission system substations.

MNRE also pointed out that the Rajasthan state transmission utility had recently published the latest status of spare transmission capacity available within the state. “This initiative has enhanced visibility for RE developers and facilitated the timely assessment of investment opportunities,” the letter said.

According to the details published, Rajasthan has an estimated spare transmission capacity of up to 13 GW in the financial year (FY) 2026 for future renewable energy projects. The state will have up to 1.4 GW of spare transmission capacity in FY 2027 and up to 3.9 GW of capacity in FY 2028. The available transmission capacity will drop to 1.9 GW by FY 2029.

Transmission capacity constraints have adversely impacted renewable energy projects, especially in solar-rich Rajasthan and Gujarat. According to Grid-India’s ‘Operational Feedback on Transmission Constraints (April-June 2025)’ report, a delay of over 18 months in commissioning a transmission system strengthening program created bottlenecks for evacuating 8.1 GW of power from a renewable energy zone in Rajasthan. The Phase II (Parts E, G, and G1) transmission system strengthening project was scheduled for completion in November 2023, but remains uncommissioned.

From March to September 2025, nearly 4 GW of wind-solar energy was curtailed in Rajasthan due to delays in transmission projects.

In October, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission admitted petitions from solar developers seeking compensation for power generation losses and financial losses resulting from power curtailment due to inadequate transmission systems. They sought directions to the Power Grid Corporation of India and CTUIL to compensate them until the operationalization of the associated transmission system.