Adani Energy Solutions FY26 capex plan: ₹18,000 cr

What AESL announced and why it matters

Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) outlined a large FY26 capital expenditure plan focused on transmission, distribution and smart metering, with management indicating visible financial impact as projects get commissioned and capitalised. The company said it has planned ₹17,000–18,000 crore of capex in FY26, and that about ₹6,000 crore has already been utilised across ongoing projects. The update came alongside operating commentary that linked growth to recently commissioned transmission assets and higher energy sales in its utility businesses. Management also pointed to a sizeable pipeline of transmission bids and smart-meter opportunities, underlining a multi-year investment cycle.

CFO commentary from the Adani Group

In remarks on results, Adani Group CFO Jugeshinder Singh said the group’s core infrastructure businesses are delivering strong double-digit growth while executing one of its largest capex programmes. He added that in H1 FY26 the group recorded its highest-ever capex in the first half, despite seasonal factors. Singh said debt metrics remain below the guided range even after doubling capex to ₹150,000 crore, and linked this to financial discipline. He also said the group is gearing up to replicate what took 25 years to build within a single year, and expects to sustain returns on assets of 15–16% as new assets become operational on schedule.

Transmission order book and new project wins

AESL said it secured a new transmission project, the WRNES Talegaon line, taking its order book to ₹60,004 crore at the end of H1 FY26. Separately, in an editor’s synopsis, the company was also described as having secured two new transmission projects, Khavda Phase IV Part-D and Rajasthan Phase III Part I (Bhadla–Fatehpur HVDC), adding 3,044 ckm to its under-construction network. The same synopsis noted that with five new project wins so far in that year, the under-construction transmission pipeline rose to about ₹54,761 crore in Q3 FY25 from ₹17,000 crore.

Quarterly performance snapshot from the synopsis

The editor’s synopsis reported robust growth of 24% in total income to ₹6,000 crore in Q3, driven by contributions from newly commissioned lines and higher energy sales in Mumbai and Mundra utilities. It also reported EBITDA increased 6% to ₹1,831 crore for the quarter, supported by strong revenue growth, EPC income in transmission, treasury income and steady regulated EBITDA in AEML. Adjusted PAT excluding one-time tax items increased 26% year-on-year to ₹440 crore. The synopsis attributed the income growth to newly operationalised transmission assets including MP Package-II, KVTL, KBTL and WKTL lines, contribution from the acquired Sipat Mahan line, and growing contribution from smart metering.

Key reported metrics (as stated)

Commissioning and capitalisation updates

The article text said AESL commissioned four transmission projects in 9M FY26, with three more on track for commissioning soon, including a landmark HVDC project. It also stated the company had fully commissioned MP Package-II during the quarter and was on track to fully commission Sangod, Khavda Phase-II Part-A and KPS–1 lines in FY25. Management said it is poised to capitalise about seven projects in the current and next financial year, adding about ₹25,000 crore to gross block.

FY26 capex plan: how ₹17,000–18,000 crore is split

AESL CEO Kandarp Patel said on an earnings call that for the full year the company expects about ₹11,400 crore in transmission, ₹1,600 crore in distribution and ₹4,000 crore in smart metering. Patel said that of the ₹6,000 crore already spent in the fiscal year, around ₹3,350 crore was on transmission, about ₹700 crore in distribution and about ₹2,000 crore in smart metering. He also said the company has earmarked around ₹10,000 crore for the Navi Mumbai area over about five years, which he described as about ₹2,000 crore per year for that region.

Capex plan and utilisation (as stated)

Expected financial contribution from capitalised capex

Patel said that in the remaining half of the fiscal year AESL expects to capitalise about ₹10,000 crore of capex. He added that the company aims to commission at least three projects, with a fourth potentially following soon, and that these projects could add revenue of about ₹1,700–1,800 crore. Management also said the overall capitalised expenditure of ₹17,000–18,000 crore could contribute an estimated ₹2,800 crore to EBITDA on an annualised run-rate basis, and that the impact should be visible in the second half on a run-rate basis.

Order pipeline, bidding pipeline, and smart metering scale-up

Management commentary in the text highlighted a transmission bidding pipeline of about ₹78,000 crore and said it anticipates ₹70,000–80,000 crore of new bidding in the next 12 months. For smart metering, the company said it expects to cross 1 crore installations by the fiscal year-end, and pointed to a pipeline of over 100 million meters yet to be bid out. The synopsis also mentioned a smart metering order book of about ₹13,600 crore alongside a transmission order book of ₹54,761 crore in the context of confidence in execution and capital management.

Funding approach, leverage targets, and equity stance

The text said AESL has no plans for equity fundraising, with capex to be funded through internal accruals, securitisation (including smart meters) and debt. It also stated a continued focus on maintaining leverage at 4–4.5x. In another management note, capex guidance for FY26 was cited as revised to ₹14,500–15,000 crore (down from ₹16,000 crore) due to project spillovers, alongside an expectation of capitalisation of about ₹25,000 crore over the next 12–15 months.

QIP fund utilisation update

The article text also said AESL has efficiently allocated 99% of its ₹8,373.10 crore Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) funds. It listed allocations including ₹2,860 crore for transmission systems capex, ₹937.52 crore for smart meter purchase and installation, ₹2,420 crore for debt repayment, and ₹2,030.60 crore for general corporate purposes, adding that reallocations were made to meet increased capital expenditure needs.

Other data points mentioned in the text

In the AESL section, the text also stated the company added 4.5 GW of new Power Purchase Agreements and that a target increased to 42 GW by 2032 from a current capacity of 18.15 GW. The same material described C&I and cooling as expected to be major growth drivers and characterised them as high-margin businesses.

Conclusion

AESL’s updates combine a large FY26 capex plan, a growing transmission order book and commissioning milestones that management expects to translate into higher revenue and EBITDA as projects are capitalised. The company has also laid out how it intends to fund growth without equity issuance, while maintaining leverage targets. The next set of milestones, as stated by management, is the commissioning of at least three projects in the second half and the planned capitalisation of about ₹10,000 crore in that period.