State government-owned transmission utilities have achieved 88 per cent of the transmission line addition target in the first eight months (April to November) of FY21.
According to latest statistics released by Central Electricity Authority (CEA), state transmission utilities could add 3,361 ckm of lines as against the targeted 3,823 ckm. This target is across all voltage classes—220kV, 400kV and 765kV—of the conventional AC type. Though India also has HVDC lines in its transmission portfolio, such technology is currently applicable to Central government and private sector projects.
For the entire year FY21, state utilities have planned to add 7,964 ckm of lines as against the actual addition of 6,307 ckm in FY20. It may be mentioned that in FY20, the target for transmission line addition was 14,397 ckm, implying an achievement of just 44 per cent.
Best performance in 220kV class
The bulk of transmission lines managed by state transmission utilities is of the 220kV type. In this category, state transcos performed the best. As against the targeted 2,366 ckm for the April to November period of FY21, actual addition was 3,024 ckm. This meant that the target was surpassed by a significant 28 per cent. For the full year FY21, the targeted addition of 220kV lines is 5,379 ckm.
In FY20, state transcos added 7,944 ckm of 220kV lines, which had fallen substantially short of the targeted 10,023 ckm.
Given that state transmission companies have added 3,024 ckm of 220kV lines in the first eight months of FY21, the target for the full year of 5,379 ckm could be achieved. However, it is unlikely that the achievement of FY21 would surpass that of FY20.
MP, TN best performers
As discussed earlier, state transcos added 3,361 ckm of transmission lines, across all voltage classes, in the first eight months of FY21. State utility Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation (MPPTCL) achieved the highest addition of 1,403 ckm, followed by Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Ltd (TANTRANSCO) with 1,038 ckm. These two states accounted for nearly three-fourths of the transmission lines added by all the state transco put together, in the given period.
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