India's policy think tank advises states to sanction datacenter load only after supply works are commissioned

National: grid first, then datacenter load

The government policy think tank, NITI Aayog, released its datacenter evaluation framework for states on 14 October. It has five pillars. A load sanction comes only after the supply infrastructure is commissioned. Facilities above 20 MW take part in demand response. Renewable supply is matched hourly. Water red zones are marked. The electronics and IT ministry, MeitY, is the nodal audit ministry. The framework is advisory and binds no state.

For power, the framework asks for a jointly validated power ramp-up plan from the developer, the distribution company (discom) and the state transmission utility: sanctioned MW, year-wise energisation, substation upgrades and their lead times. It also asks for substation load flow studies and a published power infrastructure roadmap. No state has reported adopting it.

Separately, the Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Jitin Prasada, said on 14 October that the government is preparing a datacenter policy so that the sector's power demand does not raise household electricity bills. No text, provisions or timeline are published. Reports of the statement cite a Ministry of Power estimate of 26.3 GW of AI datacenter load by 2031-32.

Maharashtra: Pune West 765/400 kV awarded

POWERGRID received the Letter of Intent for the Pune West 765/400 kV GIS substation on 16 October, at annual transmission charges of ₹199.55 crore. The scheme has 2x1,500 MVA of transformation, a 400 kV double circuit line to the Hinjewadi 400 kV substation of the state transmission company, MSETCL, and a loop-in of the 765 kV Pune-III to South Kalamb line. It is a build, own, operate and transfer project, due 24 months from transfer of the project company. The transfer date is not published.

It is the second new bulk supply scheme for the Pune west datacenter cluster, after the Jejuri to Hinjewadi line.

The state government has formed a high-level committee led by Anil Kakodkar on the environmental, water and infrastructure impact of datacenters. Members include the state discom MSEDCL, MSETCL, the industrial corporation MIDC, NEERI and IIT Bombay. A datacenter standard operating procedure and a report are due within three months.

Tamil Nadu: emergency power at up to ₹37 per unit

The outcome of the 12-31 October emergency tender is now known. The Tamil Nadu distribution company, TNPDCL, contracted 2,062 MW early morning at ₹31.99-34.49 per unit and 2,001 MW evening at ₹33.37-37 per unit. Evening peak reached 20,527 MW on 12 October. Central station supply was short by nearly 4,000 MW for maintenance, and wind gave about 500 MW against 3,500 MW contracted.

After the northeast monsoon set in, demand fell about 1,000 MW and short-term purchases were cut to under 300 MW.

The Tamil Nadu regulator, TNERC, extended the comment deadline on nine draft regulations from 15 October to 31 October. They include the distribution multi-year tariff, battery storage, intra-state transmission tariff and deviation settlement regulations.

CapitaLand unveiled Chennai 01 at Ambattur, Chennai: 34 MW IT and 53 MW gross, 13 halls, a dedicated 110 kV substation and about ₹1,940 crore, with completion by end-2026. It is under construction, not operating.

Grid and storage: Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha and the south

The Gujarat regulator, GERC, finalised its Grid Interactive Battery Energy Storage System Regulations, 2026 on 16 October, closing a draft open since 12 May. They cover standalone storage above 1 MW with at least two hours, at 11 kV or above. A co-located battery charges only from its renewable plant. Grid charging without matching contract demand attracts the temporary supply tariff. The notification number and gazette date are not stated.

GERC also posted draft amendments to the Supply Code and to the discom Standards of Performance Regulations, which set the procedure and time limits for new high-voltage connections. The comment deadline is not yet known.

The Karnataka regulator, KERC, issued a public notice on the Ryapte Power Transmission licence petition for the Ryapte 5x500 MVA and Doddathaggalli 3x500 MVA GIS substations near Hosakote, east of Bengaluru. The licence is not yet granted.

The Odisha transmission company, OPTCL, tendered a 220 kV double circuit underground cable from the 400 kV Mendhasal substation to the 220/33 kV Infocity-II substation in Bhubaneswar, with two 220 kV GIS bays at each end. The estimate is ₹168.91 crore and bids close 16 November. It adds 220 kV supply to the Infocity and Chandrasekharpur datacenter cluster.

• Telangana: statewide peak demand reached an all-time high of 20,003 MW on 15 October. Greater Hyderabad drew 4,220 MW, against 3,552 MW a year earlier.
• Telangana: the state renewable energy agency, TGREDCO, tendered 3,000 MW of solar with 1,000 MW / 6,000 MWh of storage, 800 MW of wind and 2,000 MW of round-the-clock renewable power for the state discoms. Bids are due 4 November. This is discom supply, not earmarked for datacenter load.
• Andhra Pradesh: the state power coordination committee, APPCC, invited bids for 1,250 MW / 5,000 MWh of standalone storage at three Rayalaseema sites, none in the Visakhapatnam corridor. Bids are due 23 November.
• Rajasthan: the reverse auction for 2,450 MW of solar with 1,600 MW / 6,400 MWh of storage at Pugal, Bikaner closed at ₹3.42-3.54 per kWh.
• Haryana: the regulator, HERC, approved rules for extending timelines of renewable evacuation systems: extension on application, a monthly fee of 10% of the application fee, and a decision within 30 working days or the extension is deemed approved.

New capacity

The Uttar Pradesh regulator, UPERC, recorded the first licensee-reported load for Greater Noida's new integrated datacenter park in an order of 14 October: 200 MW total expected load, 8.5 MW existing, 12 MW expected by February 2027 and 20 MW in 2028. UPERC approved bagasse-based round-the-clock power at ₹5.12 per unit (5 MW, November 2026 to March 2027) and ₹5.10 per unit (3 MW, January to March 2027).

Colt DCS and RMZ started construction of Mumbai 3 at their Navi Mumbai campus, 64 MW of contracted power, fully pre-let to a hyperscale customer. The campus reaches 86 MW on completion and up to 148 MW.

• Bihar: CtrlS opened a 12 MW (IT) datacenter in Patna, about ₹400 crore (operating), and signed a Letter of Intent for a 150 MW, about ₹10,000 crore AI campus at Bodh Gaya, Gaya district (Letter of Intent stage).
• Haryana: Anant Raj Cloud and Orange Business signed MoUs with the state. The group plans about 307 MW of IT load across Manesar, Panchkula and Rai in Sonipat district (MoU stage).
• Odisha: the state cabinet approved a ₹176.83 crore disaster recovery datacenter at Keonjhar as backup to the state government datacenter (cabinet approval; MW not published).
• Finance: the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, NIIF, plans about $700-800 million for datacenters from up to about $3.2 billion to be raised for one vehicle. No platform is named.

Slip watch

The four Gujarat transmission company tenders below reached their extended closes on 14-17 October; no outcome or award is published. In Karnataka, the Kadakola tender close also moved from 7 October to 21 October.

Open access cost, October 2026 to March 2027

No state ordered a new rate this week. In Telangana, the regulator's orders page still lists the first-half order at ₹0.13 per kWh as the latest, nineteen days into the second half.

Capacity and grid

A substation counts as named only when a utility or regulatory document names it, and naming is not a promise of power.

Net read

The week's firm steps were grid and regulatory: a 765/400 kV award for Pune west, final battery rules in Gujarat and a 220 kV cable tender in Bhubaneswar, while new capacity came mostly as Letter of Intent and MoU megawatts.

• What looks solid: the Pune West Letter of Intent, the GERC battery regulations, the OPTCL Mendhasal to Infocity-II tender and the UPERC record of 20 MW by 2028 for the Greater Noida park.
• What to discount: Letter of Intent and MoU megawatts such as Bodh Gaya and Haryana, which carry no connection filing, and the Gujarat tender dates until an award is published.