The Union power ministry has re-designated the 220kV Srinagar-Drass-Kargil-Khaltsi-Leh transmission scheme as part of the interstate transmission system (ISTS). With the result, the system has been transferred to Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL).
The Srinagar-Drass-Kargil-Khaltsi-Leh transmission scheme was executed by PGCIL on consultancy basis under the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Programme (PMRP). The project was owned by Jammu & Kashmir Power Development Department.
However, following the reorganization of the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union territories – Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, the transmission system has been re-designated as an ISTS scheme and transferred to PGCIL.
It may be recalled that on February 3, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the 220kV Srinagar-Alusteng-Drass-Kargil-Leh power transmission system to the nation. This was a defining moment in the history of India as the topographically challenged Ladakh region in Jammu & Kashmir, after over 70 years of Independence, got connected to the National Grid.
Project Highlights
- Type of transmission: Single circuit, 220kV
- Length of transmission system: 335 ckm
- Line components: Alusteng-Baltal (70 ckm), Baltal-Drass (44 ckm), Drass-Kargil (60 ckm), Kargil-Khalsti (96 ckm), Khalsti-Leh (61.5 ckm), LILO: Leh-Nimmo (66kV) and LILO: Leh-Kharu (66kV)
- Substations: 50 MVA, 220/66kV GIS substations at Drass, Kargil, Khalsti and Leh
- Project Altitude: 3,000m to 4,000m above mean sea level
- Project Cost: Rs.2,266 crore (completion cost)
- Foundation stone laid: August 12, 2014
- Gestation period: Around four and a half years (since laying of foundation stone)
- Project financing: Government of India (95 per cent), Government of J&K (5 per cent)
- Implementation agency: Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd
- Original Project owner: Jammu & Kashmir Power Development Department (J&K PDD)
- New Project owner: Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL)
(Featured photograph for illustration only)
