POWERGRID Engineer Trainee Recruitment 2026 — 319 Vacancies in Electrical, Civil and Computer Science Through GATE 2026

POWERGRID (Power Grid Corporation of India Limited) issued Vacancy Notice No. 2 on 3 November 2026, declaring 319 Engineer Trainee posts: 250 Electrical, 48 Civil and 21 Computer Science. This announcement includes 309 current vacancies and 10 backlog vacancies. The official online application and fee-payment window runs from 3 November 2026, 17:00 IST to 18 November 2026, 23:59 IST. Eligible candidates need the correct engineering qualification and a qualifying score in the corresponding GATE 2026 paper.

The vacancy notice is a continuation of Advertisement CC/04/2025 dated 27 September 2025, not a replacement for its eligibility, medical, selection, service-bond and compensation conditions. The 2025 advertisement originally mentioned Electronics as a tentative discipline; the actual 3 November 2026 seat announcement contains no Electronics vacancies. Therefore, only Electrical, Civil and Computer Science applications are available under this notice.

Essential information at a glance

Which engineering discipline has how many openings?

🥧 Share of 319 Engineer Trainee vacancies by discipline

The 319 openings are not divided equally. Electrical alone has 250 posts, while Civil has 48 and Computer Science has 21. Applicants must choose the post ID matching their notified degree and GATE paper; there is no general-purpose engineering-trainee category that accepts every engineering branch.

Complete official vertical reservation matrix — current and backlog distinguished

The 10 backlog vacancies comprise eight OBC-NCL and two SC positions. They are already part of the 319 total, not extra seats to add separately. The notice also allows management to modify vacancy numbers if the requirement changes.

🥧 All 319 vacancies by vertical reservation category

The UR row signifies unreserved positions; reservation-based selection, age limits, documentary requirements and concessions continue to depend on the candidate's eligible category and the exact official conditions.

PwBD horizontal reservation — do not double-count it

Page 1 of Notice No. 2 includes these separate horizontal reservation entries:

The table displays 22 Electrical and 2 Civil horizontal slots, 24 altogether, distributed within the announced discipline-wise vacancies. These are not 24 additional posts, and they should not be added to the vertical reservation totals. The separately identified suitability list in the 2025 full advertisement and the category-wise interchangeability conditions remain important. The November notice does not publish a separately numbered Computer Science PwBD allotment; that is not a claim that eligible PwBD candidates are categorically barred from Computer Science.

Post ID 566: Engineer Trainee (Electrical) — 250 positions

Electrical's 243 current and 7 backlog positions comprise UR 98, OBC-NCL 72 (66+6), SC 38 (37+1), ST 18 and EWS 24. Permitted full-time degree branches are Electrical, Electrical (Power), Electrical and Electronics, Power Systems Engineering and Power Engineering (Electrical). The candidate must have qualified GATE 2026 Electrical Engineering (EE). A GATE-EC or GATE-CE result is not interchangeable with GATE-EE, even when degree titles sound related. The notified post ID is 566, which applicants should match while completing the online form.

The advertisement anticipates work across POWERGRID transmission-related offices, substations, projects and sites, with postings decided by management. It does not earmark any of the 250 vacancies for a particular state or project in this notice. Successful trainees are absorbed into the Engineer E2 scale only after meeting training and other applicable conditions.

Post ID 567: Engineer Trainee (Civil) — 48 positions

Civil has 45 current and 3 backlog vacancies, comprising UR 19, OBC-NCL 14 (12+2), SC 8 (7+1), ST 3 and EWS 4. The designated full-time degree discipline is Civil Engineering, and the corresponding mandatory exam is GATE 2026 Civil Engineering (CE). Select Post ID 567 on POWERGRID's recruitment system. A civil diploma alone is not the qualifying engineering degree.

The current notice identifies the 2 Civil PwBD vacancies as interchangeable horizontal reservations with primary HI 01 and ID 01. The selected candidate's specific office, project and construction-site assignment will be determined by the employer; there is no independent 48-post state-wise allocation in these documents.

Post ID 568: Engineer Trainee (Computer Science) — 21 positions

Computer Science has 21 current vacancies and no separately shown backlog vacancies: UR 9, OBC-NCL 5, SC 4, ST 1 and EWS 2. Recognized full-time Computer Science, Computer Engineering or Information Technology degrees are covered by the detailed advertisement. The candidate must have qualified GATE 2026 Computer Science and Information Technology (CS) and apply under Post ID 568. The earlier 2025 tentative Electronics/EC column is not a fourth post in this November recruitment round.

Actual duty assignment and office location are not pre-allocated by this notice. Candidates should therefore judge eligibility by the degree discipline + GATE paper code, not by an assumed software-specialist role, fixed city or unannounced technology stack.

Qualification: marks, CGPA, final-year condition and accepted GATE year

For each of the three announced disciplines, the underlying advertisement requires a full-time B.E./B.Tech/B.Sc (Engineering) from a recognized university/institution in an explicitly listed subject. The ordinary academic threshold is 60% marks or equivalent CGPA. For eligible SC/ST/PwBD applicants competing for the relevant reserved posts, minimum academic marks may be relaxed to the passing marks prescribed for their degree; this does not waive qualification in the correct GATE 2026 paper.

The employer uses the university/institution's certified method to convert CGPA, OGPA or other grades into percentage. If the institution has no conversion formula, the detailed advertisement specifies (candidate's CGPA ÷ maximum possible CGPA) × 100. Candidates must report the result honestly, based on their institution's rules, rather than assuming a universal multiplication factor.

The base advertisement had allowed final-semester students expecting their final results by 14 August 2026, provided they met the required pre-final aggregate and later passed the qualifying degree with the requisite marks. The November window does not announce a new or extended academic-result cut-off. The date of issue of the final mark sheet is the date used for acquisition of qualification.

Only normalized marks (out of 100) from GATE 2026 in EE, CE or CS, as appropriate, are acceptable for POWERGRID's selection. GATE 2025, prior GATE years and a different GATE paper cannot be used. A candidate must have qualified the paper under the GATE conducting body's official threshold; mere appearance in GATE is insufficient.

Age as on 31 December 2025 — not the application date

The company-wide minimum age is 18 years. The ordinary upper limit for this recruitment is 28 years as at 31 December 2025, even though applications are open in November 2026. The full advertisement provides the following upper-age relaxations when the candidate is eligible under the relevant reserved category:

For the PwBD benefit, the detailed advertisement specifies at least 40% relevant permanent benchmark disability, supported by the prescribed medical certificate and competent-authority UDID documentation. A disability category's suitability for an engineering discipline must also match the employer's identified list. The age relaxation is not an automatic blanket concession for every applicant without the stated category or reservation basis.

Reservation certificates: two important cut-off rules

• OBC-NCL: The original document requires a Central Government appointment-format certificate, based on income for FY 2022–23, 2023–24 and 2024–25, issued on or after 1 April 2025. The candidate must continue to qualify as non-creamy layer on the last date of online submission and must provide the self-undertaking at interview if shortlisted.
• EWS: The prescribed income-and-asset certificate must be based on FY 2024–25 and issued on or after 1 April 2025, with entitlement existing on the final application date.
• SC/ST: The corresponding Central Government appointment-format certificate must be available for verification.
• PwBD: The prescribed certificate of permanent benchmark disability and UDID card/certificate are required for the respective benefit. A certificate issued in another language may require an authenticated Hindi/English translation at document verification.

Selection: GATE shortlisting, GD, interview and final merit

POWERGRID does not announce an additional separate written examination for these 319 posts. The selection is based on qualified GATE 2026 normalized marks, Group Discussion and Personal Interview. POWERGRID shortlists eligible candidates category-wise on GATE 2026 marks; reaching the GATE qualifying mark alone does not guarantee an interview call. Shortlisted applicants may have to undergo psychometric assessment, used as an input during interview rather than a separately weighted examination.

📊 Weightage of GATE, Group Discussion and Personal Interview

The percentages add to 100 and represent final selection weightage, not the number of questions, duration of an exam or predicted cut-off. The GD has no separate qualifying minimum. However, applicants must qualify the Personal Interview separately:

GD and interview may be attended in Hindi or English. Shortlisted candidates receive the call letter and relevant details through the POWERGRID candidate login. The two notices do not announce an actual date or venue for GD/interview. Empanelment depends on the mandatory independent GATE and interview qualification plus category-wise merit and vacancy requirements. For equal final marks, the older candidate is placed first, according to the 2025 detailed advertisement. Appointment remains subject to a pre-employment medical examination under POWERGRID norms, which the advertisement states are not relaxed.

Pay, year of training, approximate CTC and service bond

There is an important distinction between monthly starting basic, salary scale and annual CTC:

₹1,40,000 and ₹1,60,000 are the scale maxima, not the starting monthly salary or guaranteed in-hand pay. The actual total cost to company can change with posting and eligible benefits. Post-regularization benefits are subject to the organization's policies; neither the 2025 nor 2026 document promises a fixed monthly take-home amount based on the CTC figure.

Selected candidates must execute a service agreement bond to complete prescribed training and then serve POWERGRID for at least three more years: ₹5,00,000 for General/OBC-NCL/EWS, and ₹2,50,000 for SC/ST/PwBD. This is a service-bond amount, not an application fee, training salary or mandatory upfront payment described in the notice. Candidates expecting to leave immediately for further studies or needing a delayed joining should review the original restriction before applying.

Application fee and the difference between the two notices

Notice No. 2 dated 3 November 2026 expressly requires a ₹500 non-refundable fee for applicants other than SC, ST, PwBD and eligible Departmental candidates. The original CC/04/2025 advertisement separately lists Ex-Servicemen among fee-exempt categories. Since the newer notice's brief exemption list omits Ex-SM, an Ex-SM applicant should check the actual current POWERGRID application/payment instructions or obtain POWERGRID clarification before assuming fee exemption. Trainees currently working in POWERGRID are not considered departmental candidates merely because they are trainees.

Payment, where applicable, must be made through the POWERGRID online payment gateway by 18 November 2026, 23:59 IST. A draft application or an application lacking an applicable paid fee is rejected. No printed application is to be posted to any address.

How to submit the POWERGRID Engineer Trainee 2026 application

1. Open the POWERGRID official job-opportunities page and find Engineer Trainee-2026 through GATE 2026, CC/04/2025. Read the 2025 detailed advertisement and the 3 November 2026 Vacancy Notice No. 2 together. Use the official linked Register/Login and Apply action.
2. Select the correct vacancy: Electrical Post ID 566 / EE, Civil Post ID 567 / CE or Computer Science Post ID 568 / CS. Confirm that both your degree discipline and qualified GATE 2026 paper meet the exact subject list.
3. Enter the GATE 2026 Registration Number and GATE Application Number exactly as they appear on your GATE 2026 admit card. Do not exchange the two identifiers or enter a different year's number. Match your name and date of birth with the matriculation certificate and the official records.
4. Enter the institution, degree, percentage or CGPA-equivalent percentage and date of acquisition accurately. Report your correct reservation category and required supporting particulars.
5. Upload the latest colour passport photograph in JPG up to 50 KB and signature in JPG up to 30 KB. Provide DOB proof, qualification final passing certificate and applicable caste, disability, domicile/age-relaxation evidence in PDF as instructed. The notice allows the last semester/year marksheet in the specified final-year case.
6. Check both the primary and alternate email carefully. Official communication is through the registered email and POWERGRID candidate login. Review every field before pressing Submit.
7. After accepted submission, save the unique POWERGRID Registration Number appearing in the completed application. Pay the ₹500 non-refundable fee if applicable before the closing time. A draft or unpaid fee-liable form is not a completed application.
8. Take and keep a printout of the submitted form, GATE 2026 admit card and original GATE 2026 scorecard. POWERGRID can verify them at GD/interview and later stages. There is no hard-copy postal submission.

Submitted applications can be edited/updated within the online application period as the notice describes, but the same notice cautions that requests to change GATE identifiers, name or other details will not be entertained after submission outside the permitted facility. Candidates should not rely on a later email to correct a wrong GATE registration number.

If shortlisted for GD/interview

Bring the documents specified in your call letter, original GATE 2026 admit card, original GATE 2026 scorecard and a valid original photo identity document; photocopies alone do not replace the required original ID. Government/PSU employees must produce the stipulated No Objection Certificate (NOC) at interview. The employer's invitation, reporting time and venue must be followed as actually issued; no GD/interview dates are published in the current vacancy notice.

Candidate questions answered from the original documents

Can an Electronics graduate apply for a separate Electronics vacancy? No Electronics vacancies are allocated in the 3 November 319-post notice. A degree such as Electrical and Electronics may be accepted for the Electrical post only where explicitly listed and paired with qualified GATE EE; a standalone Electronics/EC recruitment cannot be inferred.

Is qualifying GATE 2026 sufficient for appointment? No. The corresponding GATE paper and degree make the candidate eligible for consideration, after which category-wise shortlist, GD, mandatory qualifying interview, merit and medical conditions apply.

Can an applicant use a 2025 GATE score? No. Only corresponding GATE 2026 normalized marks count.

Is ₹22.50 lakh the first-year salary? No. The original estimate is approximately ₹11 lakh CTC during training and approximately ₹22.50 lakh after successful completion, not guaranteed in-hand pay.

Is the age calculated as on 18 November 2026? No. The published upper-age reference date is 31 December 2025.

Are the extra PwBD rows extra vacancies? No. They describe horizontal reservations already within the declared 319 vacancies.

Where will selected candidates work? POWERGRID can allocate office, substation, transmission-line, construction-site or related assignments across India and may post staff abroad; the notice has not fixed locations for these three post IDs.

Original recruiting-authority documents and application

• Vacancy Notice No. 2, 03 November 2026 (4 pages): https://www.powergrid.in/sites/default/files/job_opportunities_document/Notice_2_2.pdf
• Detailed Advertisement CC/04/2025, 27 September 2025 (9 pages): https://www.powergrid.in/sites/default/files/job_opportunities_document/ET2026throughGATe2026.pdf
• Official POWERGRID Engineer Trainee opportunity listing: https://powergrid.in/en/job-opportunities
• Candidate registration and application, linked from the official careers listing: https://careers.powergrid.in/

Apply online and complete any applicable fee payment by 18 November 2026, 23:59 IST. The correct 3 November announcement is a vacancy notice and operative opening date under the 2025 recruitment, not a claim that the base advertisement itself was first published in 2026.