Electrical equipment: Follow one offering through the chain
Makers of motors, transformers, switchgear, cables and inverters for power systems
Follow one offering through the chain
A 765 kV transformer for India's grid
Follow a giant power transformer from copper and steel to a substation carrying solar and wind power.
Copper drawn into winding conductor
750,000 tIndia's copper use a year, 2024A large power transformer carries many tonnes of copper in its windings, drawn from refined cathode into flat, paper-insulated conductor. India refined about 555,000 tonnes of copper a year but used more than 750,000 tonnes, the government said in December 2024 (Reuters); Adani's Kutch Copper smelter at Mundra, with 500,000 tonnes a year of first-phase capacity, was then ramping up to close the gap.1
Constraint Copper is priced off global exchanges, so price swings pass straight into transformer bids, and India's copper demand is expected to double by 2030. Cu CopperAl AluminiumMetal productsCore steel India barely makes
771,000 telectrical steel imported by India, 2023The core is stacked from thousands of thin sheets of cold-rolled grain-oriented (CRGO) silicon steel, which carries magnetic flux with little loss. Few mills worldwide make it. India's main producer, JSW JFE's plant at Nashik, makes about 50,000 tonnes a year (estimate), while India imported more than 771,000 tonnes of electrical steel in 2023, about a quarter of it from China (share calculated).2
Constraint Transformer cores have no near-term substitute for CRGO, so import curbs or quality rules on foreign steel can delay deliveries. St SteelSi SiliconMg MagnesiumMetal productsWound, dried and filled with oil
75%rise in transformer prices since 2019Makers such as Hitachi Energy, Siemens Energy, CG Power and BHEL wind the coils, stack the core, dry the assembly in vacuum ovens and fill the tank with insulating oil. Demand has outrun factories worldwide: the IEA says power transformer prices rose about 75% from 2019, and average lead times for large units almost doubled after 2021.3
Constraint The largest transformers can now take up to four years to deliver, so grid projects must order them long before construction starts (IEA). Cu CopperSt SteelEPX Epoxy resinsOil Crude oilMetal productsPlastic and rubber productsShort-circuit tested in Bengaluru
7,500 MVACPRI Bengaluru short-circuit capacity, plannedBefore a utility accepts a new design, it must pass type tests, including a short circuit that hits the windings with enormous forces for a fraction of a second. India's main venue is the Central Power Research Institute's high-power laboratory in Bengaluru, which ordered two 2,500 MVA generators from GE in 2020 to lift its capacity to 7,500 MVA.5
Constraint Few high-power laboratories exist worldwide, so test slots can hold up new designs for months, and a failed test means redesign and retest. Cu CopperSt SteelErected at a substation
58%of India's FY25 line target builtAn EPC contractor such as Larsen and Toubro, KEC or Kalpataru hauls the transformer to site on a special trailer, erects it with its bushings, coolers and protection, and builds the transmission lines that feed it. Execution lags plans: India built 8,830 circuit-km of the 15,253 circuit-km of lines targeted in FY25, or 58% (IEEMA).6
Constraint Right-of-way disputes, forest clearances and late equipment deliveries are the usual causes of delay on line and substation projects. St SteelZn ZincCem CementAl AluminiumConstruction and infrastructureTransport and logisticsBought by grid planners for renewables
113,013MVA of capacity added, FY26Power Grid and state transmission companies write the specifications, run the tenders and pay for the equipment, recovering the cost through regulated tariffs. Their buying is surging with solar and wind: India added 113,013 MVA of transformation capacity at 220 kV and above in FY26, about 90% of the 126,007 MVA target, up from 86,433 MVA in FY25 (CEA).4,6,7,8
Constraint India's import dependence for electrical equipment rose from 22% to 33% between 2020 and 2025, so faster grid buying can pull in imports (McKinsey). HVAC AC transmissionPE Transformers and power electronicsWhat the chain shows
Transformers are the grid's bottleneck: CRGO steel, test slots and factory capacity, not demand, set the pace, and each is an opening for Indian makers.
Sources
- Adani smelter expansion will cut India's refined copper imports, government says (Reuters) Mining.com, 2024
- Geo-economic tensions fuel electrical steel race between China, India Fastmarkets, 2024
- Building the Future Transmission Grid: executive summary IEA, 2025
- Monthly report on transformation capacity added, March 2026 Central Electricity Authority via National Power Portal, 2026
- GE Steam Power technology to aid CPRI become India's highest capacity laboratory Energetica India, 2020
- Indian Electrical Equipment Industry Overview, April-March 2025 IEEMA, 2025
- Wired for growth: India's electrical-equipment opportunity McKinsey and Company, 2026
- PGCIL drives country's substation capacity addition in FY26 (CEA data) T&D India, 2026