Statutory approvals & liaisoning
Approvals do not delay projects. Approvals started late delay projects. We run them alongside construction, not after it.
Approvals · In short
A power project in India cannot be energised until a defined sequence of statutory approvals is complete: electrical inspectorate (CEIG) approval for the installation, distribution licensee (DISCOM) approval for the connection, State Transmission Utility (STU) or Central Transmission Utility (CTU) approval for grid connectivity, and registration with the State, Regional or National Load Despatch Centre for scheduling. Enersys Engineers handles this liaisoning as a single scope, sequenced in parallel with construction.
What liaisoning actually is
Liaisoning facilitates close working coordination between different organisations and individuals, ensuring smooth work progress and promoting collaboration and mutual understanding. In practice it means one team owning every statutory interface — preparing the drawings and forms each authority actually wants, attending the inspections, answering the queries, and tracking each application to its approval letter.
It is unglamorous work and it is where projects lose months. An approval that requires three cycles of query and resubmission takes a quarter, not a fortnight — and it usually sits on the critical path.
The approval map
How we sequence it
The correct order is set by lead time, not by convenience. Connectivity and bay availability take longest and are started first; inspectorate approval depends on completed installation and is scheduled to land just before charging.
- Approval map issued at DPR stage, with lead time and dependency for each item
- Connectivity and long-term access applications lodged as early as the scheme permits
- DISCOM and metering scheme agreed before panel manufacture, so the metering cubicle is built to the approved arrangement
- Drawings prepared in the format each authority requires, first time
- Inspection scheduling and attendance, with our engineers present
- Query response and resubmission handled by us, not passed back to the owner
- Approval letters compiled into the handover documentation
Who this is for
- Industrial consumers taking a new HT connection or increasing contract demand
- Captive and independent power producers energising a new plant
- Solar developers seeking connectivity and open access
- Owners whose project is already built and stuck at the approval stage
Frequently asked
Which approvals does a new HT industrial connection need?
Typically: DISCOM approval of the service connection and contract demand, electrical inspectorate (CEIG) approval of the installation, an approved metering scheme, and — where the supply is at transmission voltage or where open access is involved — STU connectivity and SLDC concurrence.
Can Enersys take over approvals on a project someone else built?
Yes. Taking over stalled approvals on an already-constructed installation is a common assignment. The first step is a gap review against what each authority actually requires, because a stalled application usually means a documentation gap rather than a technical objection.
How long do statutory approvals take?
It varies by authority and by state. Inspectorate approval is measured in weeks once the installation is complete and the drawings are right; connectivity and long-term access can take several months and should be started at DPR stage. The purpose of the approval map is to make those lead times visible before they become a delay.
Is liaisoning included in an Enersys EPC contract?
Yes. Statutory liaisoning is one of the six stages of our standard EPC sequence, run in parallel with construction. It is also available as a standalone scope.
What usually goes with this
These are the adjacent scopes clients most often need alongside it.
DISCOM approval & connection
The distribution licensee decides your supply voltage, your metering arrangement and your connection date. Those are engineering questions before they are administrative ones.
Read more →ApprovalsSTU approval & intra-state connectivity
Bay availability, not plant construction, is usually the binding constraint on when a project can be energised.
Read more →ApprovalsCTU approval & inter-state connectivity
Inter-state access is a different regime from a state connection — longer lead times, formal milestones and bank guarantees that are actually called.
Read more →ApprovalsSLDC, RLDC & NLDC registration and scheduling
Registration is a one-off. Scheduling and deviation settlement are for the life of the asset — and they carry real money.
Read more →Need statutory approvals? Tell us the scope.
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