Power Grid Just Beat Adani Again- Here’s What Happened

Most order-win stories are just a number and a filing. This one actually has a rivalry behind it, which is rare enough in this sector that it’s worth slowing down for. Power Grid has emerged at the centre of that rivalry after reportedly winning the ₹26,000 crore Barmer HVDC order.

According to an ET NOW exclusive citing sources, Power Grid has won the ₹26,000 crore Barmer HVDC order. What makes it interesting isn’t just the size of the number ,it’s who Power Grid beat to get there. The same three companies have now been circling this exact corridor of Rajasthan HVDC projects for close to two years, trading wins back and forth. If this one holds up, it’s Power Grid’s biggest order in recent memory, against opponents who’ve made a habit of beating them to precisely this kind of project.

One thing worth being upfront about: as of writing, this is a sourced report ,”ET NOW Exclusive | Sources Say” ,not yet a confirmed exchange filing from Power Grid itself. We’ll be clear throughout about what’s confirmed and what’s still pending.

What Was Reportedly Won

According to the sources ET NOW cited, Power Grid has won the Barmer HVDC order at around ₹26,000 crore. If it goes through, it’s expected to push Power Grid’s total order book from roughly ₹1.75 lakh crore to close to ₹2 lakh crore ,a single project moving the needle on the entire pipeline. The other two bidders in the race were Resonia (Sterlite Power’s transmission business) and Adani Energy Solutions. Interestingly, the National Committee on Transmission had originally estimated this project would cost around ₹25,000 crore, so the winning bid came in close to ,and slightly above ,that official number. Not the kind of aggressive lowball bid companies sometimes use just to win market share.

The stock reacted almost immediately: Power Grid was trading around ₹270.90 intraday, up 2.30% from the previous close of ₹264.80, moving between ₹264.20 and ₹275.95 through the session.

What This Project Actually Involves

This isn’t a routine substation upgrade, and it’s worth understanding the scale of what’s actually being built. Public tender documents confirm Power Grid put out a pre-bid tender back in March 2026 for this exact scheme ,a ±800 kV, 6,000 MW HVDC transmission link connecting Barmer, Rajasthan all the way to South Kalamb, Maharashtra. Officially it’s called “Transmission system for evacuation of power from Rajasthan REZ Phase-IV (Part-5: 6 GW) [Barmer Complex],” run through the Tariff Based Competitive Bidding route with REC Power Development and Consultancy coordinating the bids.

In plain terms, this is one of the longest, highest-capacity power corridors India has attempted to build. The scope covers a new 6,000 MW HVDC terminal station at Barmer-II, built as four 1,500 MW units, a matching 6,000 MW terminal station on the other end at South Kalamb, and an ±800 kV HVDC line stretching roughly 900 kilometres between the two, using Hexa Lapwing conductors specifically chosen to keep transmission losses down over that distance. There’s also a new pooling substation at Barmer-II, a connecting line between Barmer-I and Barmer-II, and synchronous condensers to keep the surrounding AC network stable.

What this actually does, in practical terms: it takes solar and wind power generated out in Rajasthan’s renewable zones ,one of the sunniest, windiest, most remote stretches of the country ,and moves it almost 900 km to where the demand actually is, in Maharashtra, without losing much of it along the way. Projects like this are the quiet, unglamorous infrastructure that makes India’s renewable energy targets physically achievable rather than just a number on a policy document.

Here’s the Part That Actually Makes This a Story

A routine order win wouldn’t be worth this much attention. What makes it genuinely interesting is that Power Grid, Sterlite Power, and Adani Energy Solutions have now gone head-to-head for the same corridor of Rajasthan HVDC projects multiple times over the past two years ,and the scoreboard has gone back and forth the whole way.

Back in August 2024, Power Grid actually came out as the lowest bidder (L1) for a similar Rajasthan HVDC scheme, beating both Sterlite and Adani Energy in that first round. Then, for reasons that were never disclosed, the tender got annulled and reopened. In the re-tender, the same names showed up again ,Power Grid, Sterlite, Adani Energy, and IndiGrid. This time Adani Energy came out on top, walking away with a nearly ₹25,000 crore Bhadla-Fatehpur HVDC project in January 2025. At the time, it was the largest order Adani Energy Solutions had ever won. he growing investment in transmission infrastructure also adds to the broader opportunity for renewable energy stocks as India expands its clean-energy capacity.

So heading into this Barmer round, the score between these three on Rajasthan HVDC work was genuinely split ,Power Grid had actually lost the last big HVDC contract to Adani Energy just over a year before this. If this win holds up, it’s not just another order for Power Grid. It’s them taking back ground on a battlefield where their biggest private-sector rival had just beaten them. For investors evaluating long term investments, this competitive dynamic is worth watching alongside Power Grid’s growing order pipeline and India’s expanding transmission opportunity.

Why the Order Book Number Actually Matters Here

Power Grid’s order book has been climbing steadily through 2026 ,around ₹1.48 lakh crore back in March, roughly ₹1.70 lakh crore by May, and reportedly close to ₹1.75 lakh crore just before this latest win. A single ₹26,000 crore addition pushing that toward ₹2 lakh crore isn’t a small update ,it’s one of the biggest single-project jumps the company has logged all year. And it’s landing right as Power Grid has also been raising its borrowing limits (up to ₹2.20 lakh crore approved back in June) and lifting its FY26 capex guidance to somewhere between ₹35,000-40,000 crore, well above what they’d originally guided. Put those pieces together and the picture that emerges is a company actively gearing up its balance sheet specifically to fund wins of exactly this size, which could be relevant for investors evaluating shares for long term investment.

What’s Worth Watching From Here

There are a few things that’ll actually tell you whether this story plays out the way the headline suggests.

First, the official confirmation. Power Grid usually confirms wins like this through a formal exchange filing once the Letter of Intent comes through ,until that filing shows up, this stays a sourced, unconfirmed report, however credible the source is. Second, the execution timeline. Comparable HVDC projects on this same corridor have taken 4 to 4.5 years to build from the point the SPV gets transferred, so this is very much a multi-year story, not something that shows up in next quarter’s numbers. Third, keep an eye on downstream order flow ,projects at this scale usually cascade into a wave of sub-contracts for transformers, conductors, and substation equipment over the following year or two, so names like KEC International, Kalpataru, or Transformers & Rectifiers could see order announcements tied back to this project. For investors comparing large cap stocks, execution across these milestones may matter more than the initial headline. And finally, don’t be surprised if Adani or Sterlite respond with a fresh bid somewhere else on Rajasthan’s remaining transmission pipeline ,given how this rivalry has played out so far, a loss here is unlikely to be the last word from either of them.

Final Verdict

The reported ₹26,000 crore Barmer HVDC order could be a meaningful positive for Power Grid, particularly if the win is formally confirmed and the project moves into execution. A potential order-book increase toward ₹2 lakh crore reinforces the company’s long-term growth visibility, while the scale of the project highlights Power Grid’s position in India’s expanding transmission infrastructure.

That said, the near-term story should be viewed with some caution. The order is still based on a sourced report rather than an official exchange filing, and a project of this size will take years to execute. For investors evaluating best long term stock, the bigger question is therefore not simply whether Power Grid has won the order, but how effectively it converts a large pipeline into earnings and cash flows.

From an AI stock analysis perspective, investors should look beyond the headline order and evaluate valuation, order-book growth, execution, leverage, cash flows and technical momentum together. AI for stock prediction can help identify patterns and potential scenarios, but it cannot reliably predict how a specific project or policy decision will play out. A stock prediction AI approach is most useful when combined with fundamental analysis rather than treated as a standalone signal.

The broader share market AI trend is also making it easier for investors to analyse large amounts of market and company data quickly. For investors looking for a more systematic approach, an AI based investment advisory app can help bring these signals together while keeping portfolio construction and risk management at the centre.

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