Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has urged state power utilities to strictly adhere to specified standards while floating tenders for procurement of transformers of voltage class 66kV or above.
In a very recent communication addressed to state government-owned power transmission utilities, and select Central PSUs under the power ministry, CEA said it has observed that various utilities were not strictly following the transformer ratings specified in the “CEA (Technical Standards for Construction of Electrical Plants and Electric Lines) Regulations, 2022” while floating tenders for transformers of 66kV or above.
CEA has pointed out that use of the non-standardized rating of transformers is not only leading to delay in the supply of transformers but also compelling transformer manufacturers to design and test a new-rating transformer.
This leads to an added time and cost burden on transformer manufacturers as a non-standard transformer will involve new design, various type tests and dynamic short-circuit tests, CEA said.
Further, it has also been observed that lesser number of transformer and reactor manufacturers are participating in the procurement tender of non-standard rating of transformer thereby reducing competition, the CEA communication said.
Significantly, specifying non-standard rating of transformers in the tender is tantamount to violation of “CEA (Technical Standards for Construction of Electrical Plants and Electric Lines) Regulations, 2022,” the CEA communication asserted.
In the context of the CEA communication under discussion, specifications related to power/auto transformers used in power transmission, as well as generator transformers for thermal power plants.
CEA specifications
It may be mentioned that in April 2021, CEA issued “Standard Specifications and Technical Parameters for Transformers and Reactors (66kV & above voltage class)”, aimed at promoting uniformity in the specification and technical parameters of transformers and reactors.
Later, these standards were made mandatory by incorporating them in Regulations 46(1)(a) in Central Electricity Authority (Technical Standards for Construction of Electrical Plants and Electric Lines) Regulations, 2022,” which were notified on December 23, 2022.
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