India has revoked grid access for 17GW of clean energy projects, hitting Adani, ReNew, and others, as outdated transmission electronics struggle to keep pace with surging power demand.
India has cancelled grid access for nearly 17 gigawatts (GW) of delayed clean energy projects, exposing the strain on its transmission infrastructure and the urgent need for modern grid electronics and automation.
The cancellations, affecting major developers such as Adani Green Energy, ReNew Power, NTPC, Avaada Group, JSW Energy, and ACME Solar, are aimed at prioritising projects already operational or nearing completion. According to official documents, the state-run Central Transmission Utility of India Ltd (CTUIL) issued the revocations in the June quarter after prior notices and manual inspections.
The move comes as India faces surging power demand driven by rising incomes, mechanised farming, industrialisation, and urbanisation. While the country has set a target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel power capacity by 2030, its current transmission network—spanning about 495,000 circuit kilometres—remains behind the pace of generation growth. The bottleneck underscores gaps in high-voltage systems, monitoring, and smart grid technologies critical for energy integration.
The affected projects are concentrated in renewable-rich states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. CTUIL is working to free up transmission lines for projects on track, while developers seek relief from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). JSW Energy’s appeal was declined in June, with the next hearing listed for October 7.
Recent regulatory tightening has further raised the stakes. Developers are barred from changing the source of generation after securing connectivity, and project promoters must retain control until commissioning. Violations risk forfeiture of guarantees and loss of grid access.
Responding to the cancellations, a spokesperson for Adani said, “There is no connectivity revocation on account of delay in project commissioning dates,” without elaborating. Other companies and CTUIL did not respond to queries.
