Why in News?

Nearly 21 GW — about 9% of India's installed renewable energy capacity — is running on temporary grid connections due to delayed dedicated transmission infrastructure, putting project revenues and clean energy targets at risk.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• The Core Problem
• Understanding the GNA-TGNA Framework
• Financial Stress on Developers
• Risk of NPAs and Systemic Impact

The Core Problem

• Renewable energy capacity is being added faster than the transmission network needed to evacuate that power.
• Around 12 GW faces restrictions on power evacuation during peak solar generation hours.
  • Power evacuation refers to transferring electricity generated at a plant to the point of consumption.
• In FY26, about 6,900 GWh of clean electricity faced restrictions due to this mismatch; during April–June alone, 8,133 GWh of solar electricity was curtailed.

Understanding the GNA-TGNA Framework

• Under the General Network Access (GNA) framework, inter-state transmission-connected projects with long-term GNA get firm evacuation rights — that is, guaranteed access to send their power into the grid.
• Projects awaiting dedicated transmission infrastructure operate under Temporary General Network Access (T-GNA), a stopgap arrangement that allows scheduling of power only when spare capacity exists.
• During congestion, long-term GNA projects get priority, forcing T-GNA projects to curtail (reduce) generation — by as much as 70-80% of capacity, according to developers.
• Electricity curtailment means the intentional reduction of power output from renewable generators.

Financial Stress on Developers

• Solar power enjoys "must-run" status in India, but can still be backed down for grid security, technical constraints, or transmission bottlenecks.
• Developers get compensated for grid-security-related curtailment, but not for T-GNA-related curtailment — directly eroding revenues.
• In Rajasthan, curtailment has reportedly touched 90-95% for some projects, with roughly 4 GW of state capacity affected.
• Developers are increasingly funding operations through equity and reserves rather than actual power revenue — an unsustainable model over time.
• As a result, the experts have demanded moratorium on principal repayment during transmission delays, interest-free/concessional bridge financing, extended loan tenure without credit downgrades, and debt restructuring without asset reclassification.

Risk of NPAs and Systemic Impact

• Industry experts warn affected projects could turn into Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) if the issue persists.
• They noted generators lose over 50% of generation during peak solar hours due to T-GNA curtailment — a rate unsustainable beyond a few months for loan servicing.
• 12 public sector banks, along with IREDA, PFC, REC, NaBFID, IIFCL, and SIDBI, cumulatively deployed about Rs 5.08 lakh crore in the renewable sector over FY25-26 — meaning financial institutions also bear risk if project viability deteriorates.
• Analysts have flagged that continued slippage in transmission commissioning could hit capacity additions, cash flows, Internal Rate of Returns (IRRs), and investor confidence.

Conclusion

India's renewable energy growth is being outpaced by transmission infrastructure, trapping a significant share of green capacity in a temporary, low-priority access regime.

Left unaddressed, this mismatch threatens developer solvency, banking sector exposure, and India's broader clean energy targets — making transmission planning as critical as capacity addition itself.