CRGO electrical steel for transformer cores, copper for windings and cables, and electrical-grade aluminium rod for conductors.
Smelters and steelmakers supply the three metals that make up most of the grid's equipment cost: aluminium wire rod (conductors), copper rod and strip (transformer windings, cables) and cold-rolled grain-oriented (CRGO) steel (transformer cores). Processors slit and cut CRGO into core laminations.
CRGO is the grid's most strategic gap: GTRI estimates India needed ~4 lakh tonnes in FY24 and made only ~50,000 tonnes, at JSW JFE's Nashik plant. A domestic anti-dumping complaint (DGTR probe, Jun 2026) and BIS certification rules decide how much transformer makers pay. Aluminium and copper prices flow straight into conductor and cable costs.
Commodity-priced: aluminium and copper earnings follow LME prices and power costs, and grid demand is only one slice of their volume. CRGO earns a premium because supply is short, which is why JSW and JFE are spending ~₹5,845 Cr to reach 3.5 lakh tonnes a year from FY28.