India Plans Auction of Idle Grid Connectivity to Speed Up Renewable Energy Deployment

India’s power regulator, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), is considering auctioning unused transmission connectivity that has been blocked by stalled renewable energy projects. Although developers were granted around 31.8 GW of grid access based on letters of award, many have not executed power purchase agreements (PPAs), leaving critical transmission capacity underutilised and slowing the clean energy pipeline. Nearly 50 GW of renewable projects remain without buyers due to low demand from state utilities, resulting in a mismatch between project readiness and grid availability. Developers often delay construction until PPAs are finalised, preventing ready-to-build projects from accessing the grid. CERC’s proposals seek to fix this bottleneck by offering multiple pathways: allowing stalled developers to shift to a land-based route with strict timelines, imposing performance guarantees, swapping letters of award with PPAs from other projects, or surrendering connectivity for auction. The regulator also suggests that future applications may require PPAs upfront or be allocated strictly through auctions, highlighting the scarcity of transmission resources. Stakeholders have been invited to submit comments. The move aligns with India’s target of 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030, amid challenges arising from slow project execution and a transmission network (495,000 circuit km) that is unable to keep pace with rising generation capacity.