Transmission
Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID, the 'Central Transmison Utility (CTU)' of the country and a 'Navratna' Company operating under Ministry of Power, is engaged in power transmission business with the responsibility for planning, implementation, operation and maintenance of inter-State transmission system and operation of National & Regional Power Grids. POWERGRID is a listed Company, with 57.90% holding of Government of India and balance by Institutional Investors & public.
POWERGRID has been implementing various transmission projects for generation capacity addition under central sector, Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs), Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and other projects. As on December 31, 2014, the Company owns & operates transmission network of about 1,13,587 ckm of transmission lines and 188 nos. of EHVAC & HVDC substations with transformation capacity of about 2,19,579 MVA. The Company continues to wheel about 50% of total power generated in the Country through its transmission network at an availability of over 99% consistently.
The company exhibited an impressive financial performance during FY 2013-14, earning a net profit of Rs. 4,497 Crore with Turnover of Rs. 15,721 Crore and Gross Asset Base of Rs. 96,504 Crore.
Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO), a 100% subsidiary of the Company, has been successfully managing the National and Regional Grids through deployment of latest technology. Company’s strong transmission network and modernised RLDCs have facilitated about 78.38 billion units (BUs) of inter-regional energy transfer across the Country during FY 2013-14 through execution of Short Term Open Access (STOA).
Integration of Renewable Energy Resources with conventional sources is a top priority worldwide and special attention is being given in our country to harness the Green Energy. CERC has provided a framework for trading in Green Certificates (Renewable Energy Certificates or RECs) and National Load Despatch Centre (NDLC) of POSOCO has been designated as the Central agency for this purpose.
Nationwide synchronous power grid, interconnecting all the five regional grids, has been established with the commissioning of 765kV S/c Raichur – Sholapur line on December 31, 2013. As on December 31, 2014, National Grid with inter-regional power transfer capacity of about 46,450 MW has been established. The inter-regional power transfer capacity is envisaged to be augmented to about 72,250MW by the end of the XII Plan (2016-17).
11 nos. of High Capacity Power Transmission Corridors (HCPTCs) have been finalized to meet bulk power evacuation requirement of various Independent Power Producers (IPPs) mainly coming up in resource rich and coastal States such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh at an estimated cost of about Rs. 75,000 Crore (POWERGRID's scope: about Rs. 66,000 Crore). Implementation of these corridors has been taken up in a phased manner matching with generation projects.
An investment of about Rs. 1,00,000 Crore has been envisaged by the Company for further development of inter-State transmission systems during XII Plan which includes development of High Capacity Power Transmission Corridors (HCPTCs) apart from inter-regional links for enhancement of National Grid capacity & various system strengthening schemes. This will be used for augmenting the transmission system by about 40,000 ckm of transmission lines and about 1,00,000MVA of transformation capacity.
On the advice of Forum of Regulators (FOR)/ Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), POWERGRID has evolved transmission infrastructure requirement for integration of large scale envisaged renewable capacity in 12th Plan into the Grid at an estimated cost of about Rs. 43,000 Crore. Towards this, a report titled "Green Energy Corridors" has been released on September 14, 2012. Implementation of these corridors has also been initiated.
Conserving Right-of-Way (RoW), minimizing impact on natural resources, coordinated development of cost effective transmission corridor, flexibility in upgradation of transfer capacity of lines matching with power transfer requirement are major areas of concern in development of transmission network in the country. In this direction, the Company is now working on higher transmission voltages of ±800kV HVDC & 1200kV 1200kV UHVAC. About 2,000km long -+800kV, 6000 MW HVDC Bi-pole connecting Biswanath Chariali in Assam to Agra in Uttar Pradesh is under implementation, and shall be amongst the longest such lines in the world. Similarly, highest voltage level in the world, 1200 kV UHVAC Single Circuit (S/c) and Double Circuit (D/c) test lines were successfully test charged along with one 1200 kV Bay at 1200kV UHVAC National Test Station at Bina, Madhya Pradesh and field tests are currently undergoing.
To shore up its revenue and create value for its stakeholders, POWERGRID diversified into telecom business and is managing a pan-India Broad Band Telecom Network of about 30,000 kms providing back-bone connectivity to all metros, major cities & towns including remote areas of J&K & North-eastern States etc. The Company is one of the three agencies selected by Govt. of India for providing connectvity for the prestigious 'National Knowledge Network' project which aims to connect all knowledge centers across the country such as IITs, IISc, etc. on high speed connectivity. POWERGRID has been nominated as one of the implementing agencies for this project and has been entrusted with the task of development and maintenance of the NOFN network in five states, namely Andhra Pradesh (Partial), Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha.
Further, POWERGRID is playing a significant role in carrying forward the distribution reforms through undertaking RGGVY works on behalf of the Govt. of India in various parts of the country.
POWERGRID has emerged as a strong player in South Asia and is playing an active role in formation of a strong SAARC grid for effective utilization of resources for mutual benefits. Presently, various electrical interconnections exist between India & Bhutan, India & Nepal and India & Bangladesh. Further, the interconnection between India & Bhutan and India & Nepal are being strengthened for substantial exchange of power across the borders. Also, feasibility study for an under-sea interconnection between India and Sri Lanka is under finalization and 500MW Amritsar (India) - Lahore (Pakistan) HVDC link between India and Pakistan is under discussion. In addition, POWERGRID is offering consultancy services to various National clients & International clients, including many South Asian, African, and Middle East countries.
POWERGRID has taken leadership initiative for development of Smart Grid technology in the country integrating all segments in power supply chain. In Distribution system, POWERGRID jointly with Govt. of Puducherry has developed a Consumer-utility interactive Pilot Smart Grid/ City project in Puducherry through open collaboration with more than 70 nos. organizations & academic institutions. The project is under implementation and interim Smart Grid Control Centre at Puducherry has already been established with provision of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) solution and other functionalities like Outage Management System, Demand Response, Microgrid etc. are being taken up in a progressive manner. A number of such Smart Cities have been planned for other cities in the country.
In Smart transmission, POWERGRID has also implemented Synchrophasor Technology in its Wide Area Measurement System (WAMS) Pilot Project through installation of PMUs (Phasor Measurement Units) at different locations in all 5 Regions across the country, which facilitates better visualization and situational awareness of the grid events such as grid robustness, oscillations, angle/ voltage instability, system margin etc. as well as decision support tools. POWERGRID also acts as 'nodal point' in prestigious "India Smart Grid Task Force" Secretariat for Government's activities related to Smart Grid.