Maharashtra Weighs Tokenizing Up to Half of Its Power Grid to Fund Transmission and Solar Storage

The Indian state of Maharashtra has begun preparing policies that could tokenize up to half of selected electricity transmission assets, using the proceeds to finance new power lines and solar energy storage facilities. The plan, outlined by a senior state economic adviser at a private blockchain event in Mumbai, would let investors buy digital tokens tied to a share of the revenue generated by the state’s transmission utility — one of the most ambitious public-infrastructure tokenization proposals yet floated by an Indian government body.

How the model would work

Praveen Pardeshi, chief economic adviser to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and CEO of the Maharashtra Institution for Transformation, presented the idea at The Box Launch, an invitation-only event hosted at the World Trade Center in Mumbai by real estate tokenization company RealX and MST Blockchain. Under one possible structure, the state would tokenize 40% to 50% of an electricity transmission line. Investors who purchase the tokens would receive a share of the income earned by Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company, known as Maharashtra Transco.

Pardeshi said capital raised through token sales could be directed toward additional transmission lines, while funding could also support storage centers designed to hold solar power until electricity demand rises. Rather than transferring full control of the infrastructure to private owners, the model would let investors participate in the income generated by a defined portion of a public asset. Pardeshi described tokenization as a financing tool that could open public infrastructure development to more citizens.

Many details remain undisclosed, including which transmission assets could enter the program, how token holders would receive revenue, who could invest, and which blockchain network would record ownership. The state has not announced the size or timing of any token sale.

A grid that wastes its own solar boom

Maharashtra’s interest in novel financing stems partly from a mismatch between solar output and transmission capacity. The state produces more solar electricity than it can use during certain periods, yet the grid cannot always move that power to areas where demand exists. Without enough transmission lines and storage, low-cost electricity generated during surplus hours is simply unavailable when consumption peaks.

The economics are stark. Pardeshi noted that electricity can trade for as little as two paise per unit on the power exchange when supply exceeds demand — but during peak hours, distribution companies may have to buy power at 16 to 18 rupees per unit, a spread of several hundred times. Energy storage facilities could hold part of the daytime solar surplus and release it later, while new lines could carry electricity from generation sites to consumption centers. Maharashtra plans to channel proceeds from any infrastructure tokenization program into both types of projects.

Token holders would rely on the revenue rights and legal protections attached to each asset rather than owning the physical line itself. The final structure would need to define how income is calculated, distributed and recorded, and what rights investors hold if revenue falls short. Liquidity is another open question: the value of tokenized real-world assets had reached 34.6 billion USD as of September, yet only 3.79 billion USD was actively used within protocols, leaving roughly 89% of issued value idle. Falcon Finance chief RWA officer Artem Tolkachev has argued that low utilization should be judged against an asset’s intended purpose — a yield-distribution token can succeed without heavy trading, while collateral-focused assets face a different test.

The DELTA Act could make Maharashtra first in India

Alongside the power infrastructure proposal, Maharashtra is drafting the Maharashtra Digital and Land Token Asset Trading Act, known as the DELTA Act. If enacted, it would make Maharashtra the first Indian state with legislation specifically covering blockchain-based property tokenization, according to details presented at the event. No legislative timetable has been given, and it is unclear whether a draft has reached the state legislature.

Pardeshi used Mumbai’s Express Towers commercial building to illustrate how property tokenization could operate. The building was tokenized through a real estate investment trust structure that divided an interest in the property into smaller investment units. In the state’s proposed infrastructure model, the legal connection between a token and Maharashtra Transco’s revenue would be central: blockchain records alone would not determine whether investors hold enforceable claims. Those rights would depend on state legislation, offering documents and the contractual framework.

Pardeshi also pushed back against the suggestion that tokenizing part of a government asset amounts to privatization. Under the model he presented, the state would continue creating and operating public infrastructure while token buyers participate financially in the asset’s revenue.

Why token rights matter for foreign investors

For American investors, any access to Maharashtra-linked tokens would depend on the eventual offering terms and applicable U.S. securities rules. No plan has been announced to market the tokens in the United States or through U.S.-registered platforms.

Recent disputes over stock tokens show why the legal rights attached to a digital asset matter. The conflict between Robinhood and AMC Entertainment raised questions about third-party tokens linked to publicly traded shares, including whether buyers receive the same rights as shareholders of the underlying company. Robinhood’s tokenized stock products were offered through an offshore unit and unavailable to U.S. users, while AMC’s chief executive objected to a product created without the company’s approval.

Maharashtra’s proposal differs in form because the state is considering a direct financing arrangement tied to public infrastructure revenue rather than tokens tracking existing securities. Still, the lesson transfers: the enforceability of a token claim lives in legislation and contract, not in the ledger. If the DELTA Act reaches the statute book and the transmission pilot follows, Maharashtra would become a test case for whether public infrastructure revenue can be split into blockchain-tradable instruments at state scale — and whether a 300-billion-rupee-a-year power economy can fund its own expansion one transmission line at a time.