Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) has commissioned assets worth Rs.10,709 crore during the second quarter (July to September) of FY21.
This, according to industry observes, could be amongst the highest capitalization achieved by PGCIL in any single quarter in recent history.
This achievement was possible largely by the commissioning of Pole-1 of the Raigarh-Pugalur HVDC line. (Read more).
In Q1 (April to June) of FY21, asset capitalization had stood at Rs.1,184 crore. In this quarter, which was also adversely affected by the COVID-19 lockdown, the only notable asset to be commissioned was the 400kV double-circuit Hiriyur-Mysore transmission line spanning 413 ckm, and located in Karnataka.
As opposed to this, in Q2 of FY21, PGCIL could commission 4,445 ckm of transmission lines, once again thanks to the Raigarh-Pugalur system.
The following lines were commissioned during Q2 of FY21:
- 800kV Raigarh-Pugalur HVDC
- 400kV D/C Pugalur (HVDC) to Pugalur
- 400kV D/C Rajarhat-Gokarna-Farakka
- 400kV D/C NNTPS-Ariyalur
- 400kV D/C Pugalur-Arasur
- 400kV D/C Banaskantha-Radhanesda
- 400kV D/C Meerut-Koteshwar Ckt-1 (upgraded to 765kV)
During the first half (April to September) of FY21, PGCIL could add 4,858 ckm of transmission lines, 9,916 MVA of transformation capacity and 1,500 mw of interregional transmission capacity.
In a notable development, PGCIL, in Q2 of FY21, commissioned India’s first indigenously developed 400kV optical current transformer.
Capex
The capital expenditure incurred in the first half of FY21 stood at Rs.5,006 crore with Rs.1906 crore (or 38 per cent) coming in Q1 and the remaining Rs.3100 crore (or 62 per cent) in Q2.
In FY21, PGCIL has planned capital expenditure (capex) of Rs.10,500 crore. As seen above, Rs.5,006 has already been incurred in the first half. This leaves roughly the same quantum for the second half of FY21.
As of September 30, 2020, PGCIL has estimated total works in hand worth around Rs.41,000 crore. A little over half of this represents ongoing projects. (See table)
PGCIL has also estimated nearly Rs.18,000 crore of upcoming opportunities including interstate transmission works related to renewable energy evacuation (Rs.16,000 crore) and intrastate transmission works under TBCB mode (Rs.2,000 crore).
It may be noted that capitalization refers to assets commissioned while capital expenditure relates to assets under creation.