India’s renewable energy capacity is expanding faster than the transmission infrastructure needed to evacuate it, driving demand for transformers, substations, and other critical grid equipment. Transformer manufacturers are under pressure to scale capacity and shorten delivery timelines. However, equipment shortages, right-of-way constraints, and regulatory approvals continue to delay transmission projects even as demand rises.

In an interview with Mercom India, Niral Patel, Chairman and Managing Director of Atlanta Electricals, spoke about the company’s expansion of manufacturing expansion and export strategy, raw material pressures, evolving lender sentiment, and the policy support needed to localize critical transmission equipment.

Please throw light on your company’s products and services for the energy sector.

Atlanta Electricals manufactures transformers across the full spectrum of power transmission and distribution, from distribution transformers to extra-high-voltage units in the 500 MVA/765kV class.

We have five manufacturing facilities (four in Gujarat, one in Bengaluru) with a cumulative capacity of 63,060 MVA. We have received approval from Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID) to manufacture 400 kV-class transformers. Overall, we have supplied 4,858 transformers totaling 1,16,936 MVA across India.

Our customers include state and central utilities, renewable energy developers, and industries.

What are the biggest bottlenecks currently facing the transmission sector: land acquisition, right-of-way issues, equipment availability, financing, or regulatory approvals?

All these challenges are real, and different projects face different constraints.

From a manufacturer’s perspective, equipment availability is the most critical near-term bottleneck and one that was not fully anticipated when India’s renewable targets were set.

Other challenges include land acquisition and right-of-way; regulatory approvals, where inter-agency coordination remains difficult; and financing, as equipment manufacturing is capital-intensive with long investment cycles, making lenders cautious.

These challenges are interconnected. Faster approvals only matter if equipment is ready. Atlanta addressed the financing constraint by repaying ₹3.4 billion (~$35.75 million) of term debt and funding its expansion entirely through internal accruals.

Developers complain of long lead times for equipment supply. What is the current state of transmission equipment manufacturing in India today?

Lead times that were once 4 to 6 months have stretched to 8 to 15 months in several segments, driven by simultaneous demand from renewable energy, transmission and distribution expansion, and industrial growth.

Atlanta Electricals has expanded capacity nearly fourfold within 18 months, from 16,000 MVA to 63,060 MVA.

Our order book has since scaled to a fresh high of ₹311.6 billion (~$3.2 billion) as of June 30, 2026, providing the production visibility needed for efficient planning

The supply gap should ease over the medium term. However, customers sharing their 12- to 18-month procurement pipelines with manufacturers could help reduce lead times much sooner.

The government has allowed Chinese companies to participate in power transmission projects. How does this affect domestic players?

Direct imports of transformers from China aren’t permitted. What’s been allowed is for Chinese-origin manufacturers to bid for public sector tenders through their India-based manufacturing units.

It’s still early days, and the longer-term competitive impact will become clearer over time. What matters most to us is staying focused on what we can control: continued investment in capacity, technology, and backward integration.

More broadly, demand for transmission equipment in India is not cyclical, and the market is large enough to support several well-capitalized, quality-focused manufacturers. Our strategy is to continue strengthening our manufacturing depth, our technology roadmap, and our track record.

How do you expect the demand for transmission equipment to evolve in India? Are manufacturers facing any supply chain challenges for raw materials such as cold-rolled grain-oriented (CRGO) steel and copper?

India’s target of installing 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity requires massive grid expansion. Rising industrial electricity demand and replacement of aging equipment will add further volumes. Manufacturers that invested in capacity ahead of this demand cycle are best positioned to benefit.

CRGO steel supply remains tight globally and must be managed through advance bookings and strong supplier relationships. CRGO steel and copper prices have remained under upward pressure amid geopolitical uncertainty, and we expect that to persist over the coming quarters. However, we do not anticipate any near-term shortage. Given the nature of our contracts, including IEEMA’s price variation clause built into most of our utility agreements, we have been able to pass on a significant portion of these incremental costs, helping protect our margins.

What policy changes and incentives are needed to promote domestic manufacturing of critical transmission equipment?

To make the government’s focus on localization effective, the following measures would have a meaningful impact:

• Extend domestic content mandates to transformers and substation equipment, similar to ALMM in solar, to give manufacturers demand visibility for capacity investment decisions
• Introduce production-linked incentive-style support for high-voltage and ultra-high-voltage manufacturing to drive domestic production in segments with the highest import dependence
• Expand access to short-circuit testing at the Bina laboratory, enabling more Indian manufacturers to qualify for advanced product categories.
• Provide multi-year procurement forecasts from public sector utilities, reducing balance sheet risk and improving capacity and raw material planning.

Government reports have indicated transformer failure rates of up to 10%. What is causing these failures, and how can quality be improved?

The Central Electricity Authority’s findings are a serious concern. The main causes include moisture ingress and poor sealing during installation or operation; inconsistent component quality, often resulting from cost-driven procurement decisions; and inadequate pre-dispatch testing

At Atlanta Electricals, manufacturing discipline has grown alongside capacity. Our robotics-led tank and radiator facility is specifically designed to reduce fabrication variability, a key cause of field failures. The performance of our installed base reflects this focus.

How receptive are lenders to the transmission sector, especially equipment manufacturing?

Lender sentiment has traditionally been cautious towards equipment manufacturers because the business is capital-intensive, commodity-exposed, and has working capital cycles that are more difficult to underwrite than utility-scale project debt.

That is gradually changing as lenders recognize transformer manufacturing as central to India’s energy transition. Atlanta is debt-free with expansion funded entirely through internal accruals. This has strengthened our financial credibility and reduced dependence on leverage.

Looking ahead, what is the single biggest transmission infrastructure challenge India must overcome to support its clean energy ambitions?

India has made impressive progress in solar and wind, but the widening gap lies between generation coming online and the transmission corridors required to evacuate that power.

Renewable resources are geographically constrained, with solar concentrated in Rajasthan and Gujarat and wind along the coasts. Delivering this electricity to demand centers requires transmission corridors planned several years in advance.

When transmission lags generation, curtailment increases, and the energy transition slows. Addressing this challenge will require parallel planning of generation and transmission, faster approvals, and equipment manufacturers investing ahead of demand. This is the approach Atlanta Electricals has adopted.

Transformer shortages are a global problem. Does Atlanta plan to expand into export markets such as the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East?

Atlanta Electricals has entered the export market with its first international order, a ₹200 million (~$2 million) contract for 132/33kV and 33/11kV transformers for customers in Asia and the Middle East. We are executing the order in the current financial year, although export revenue will be recognized only from FY 2028.

Our strategy is focused on expanding our presence across Europe and Africa, and, to a certain extent, the U.S. as well, alongside our existing relationships in Asia and the Middle East. In these markets, Indian manufacturers are increasingly recognized as reliable alternatives to traditional suppliers.

We aim for exports to contribute 15% of revenue within three years. We are well-positioned to secure the customer-specific approvals and certifications required in these markets. Qualification standards are rigorous, and sales cycles are long, but the global shortage has opened opportunities that did not exist earlier.