The 765kV interconnector linking the northern region (NR) grid and the western region (WR) grid is likely to complete by July 2021, a latest report by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has indicated.
The project costing close to Rs.1,000 crore is being implemented by a special purpose vehicle “NR – WR Power Transmission Ltd”, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL).
PGCIL won this project under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) mechanism in March 2018. The project will be developed under the BOOM modality, with a concession period of 35 years.
The project involves construction of a 765kV double-circuit line from the Vindhyachal Pooling Station (in Madhya Pradesh, Western Region) to Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh, Northern Region).
Physical progress
The EPC contract for the transmission line was awarded to Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd (KTPL) in April 2018. The line running 189.5 km (NOT circuit km) has 521 tower locations. While foundation work for all locations is complete, tower erection has been achieved for 513 locations.
As far as stringing is concerned, 146 km has been achieved, with 72 km in the Northern Region and 74 km in the Western Region.
Forest-related issues
The line involves a lot of forest area, and it is learnt that clearances in some areas caused project implementation delays. Besides, not much progress was achieved for nearly six months in 2020, as a fallout of the pandemic-induced nationwide lockdown.
It is learnt that, as of March 31, 2021, there was some issue relating to the line crossing rivers of Son and Gopad, in Madhya Pradesh. One of the pre-conditions was the use of insulated cables, to which PGCIL is sought concessions as technology for 765kV insulated cables is not available globally. (This implied that the river-crossing should be with underground cables.)
The matter moved from Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Bhopal to National Board for Wildlife to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change. Finally, in June 2020, the Chief Wildlife Warden, Government of Madhya Pradesh granted permission to PGCIL to construct an overhead transmission line.
Objective
The objective of the 765kV NR-WR interconnector, approved in May/June 2016, is to provide strong connectivity between the Northern Region grid and the Western Region Grid, and to facilitate flow of power under various contingencies.