The Sterlite Electric-Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd partnership: How it is strengthening Mumbai’s power backbone
- October 27, 2026
As Mumbai’s electricity demand grows across residential, commercial and industrial centres, strengthening the city’s transmission network is becoming increasingly important. underground extra high voltage (EHV) cable systems are playing a critical role in this transition, helping utilities improve network reliability while navigating one of India’s most densely built urban environments.
Sterlite Electric’s growing engagement with Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd (AEML) reflects this evolving requirement. The relationship began in January 2025 with the award of the 220kV Aarey-BKC cable project. Since then, Sterlite Electric has secured six additional 220kV cable projects across Mumbai and the wider metropolitan region, covering locations including Kandivali, Motilal Nagar, Chandivali, Ghodbunder, Borivali and Ghansoli.
Together, the seven projects span approximately 232 km of 220kV underground cable systems, with all projects currently at different stages of execution and delivery.
“Mumbai’s dense urban environment demands transmission solutions that combine engineering precision, reliability and minimal disruption. Our partnership with AEML reflects our ability to deliver complex EHV cable infrastructure while bringing advanced monitoring technologies to strengthen the resilience and visibility of critical power assets,” said Frédéric Tréfois, CEO, Sterlite Electric.
Building a more resilient urban transmission network
The projects are designed to strengthen connectivity between key substations and support the continued expansion of Mumbai’s transmission network. They include new underground connectivity, additional network redundancy and conversion of selected overhead transmission infrastructure to underground systems.
Together, the projects are expected to support reliable electricity supply for approximately 3 million people across the areas served by these corridors.
Sterlite Electric’s scope extends beyond cable supply. Across the seven projects, the company is responsible for the engineering and supply of 220kV cable systems, joints and terminations, cable laying, testing and commissioning. These projects also incorporate Intelligent Sensing technology and advanced cable-monitoring capabilities, extending the infrastructure from power transmission into intelligent asset monitoring.
Bringing intelligence to Mumbai’s underground grid
These projects are among the early deployments of CAMOS, an advanced cable monitoring solution developed by Sterlumiq, the joint venture between Sterlite Electric and Spanish technology company RDT Lumiker focused on intelligent monitoring of critical cable infrastructure. (Read exclusive interview)
CAMOS acts as the intelligence layer, bringing together electrical current sensing with distributed fiber-optic sensing technologies such as Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) and Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) within a unified monitoring environment.
DTS provides continuous temperature monitoring along the cable route, helping identify hotspots and abnormal thermal behaviour. DAS detects and localises acoustic and vibration activity around the cable corridor, including potential external threats such as excavation or drilling. CAMOS adds electrical intelligence through phase and screen-current measurements and correlates these inputs to provide deeper visibility into cable operating conditions, emerging abnormalities and fault behaviour.
Together, these capabilities enable utilities to monitor cable health in real time, identify emerging issues, locate disturbances and support faster intervention and predictive maintenance.
The projects also incorporate 220kV Intelligent Sensing Cables with optical fiber integrated within the power cable itself. This allows the same cable infrastructure to support both power transmission and communication or monitoring capabilities.
The combination of sensing-enabled cable infrastructure and CAMOS represents a shift from conventional underground cable infrastructure towards intelligent, data-enabled transmission assets, giving utilities greater visibility into critical infrastructure that is otherwise difficult to inspect once installed.
Engineering for Mumbai’s complex urban corridors
Installing 220kV underground cables in Mumbai presents a distinct set of engineering and execution challenges. Limited right-of-way, highly congested roads and the presence of multiple underground utilities require detailed route planning and close coordination during construction.
Sterlite Electric has addressed these complexities through route-level engineering, integrated project planning and coordinated execution with relevant stakeholders. The approach is aimed at enabling large-scale EHV infrastructure deployment while minimising disruption to existing city infrastructure and services.
The challenge is particularly significant for projects that involve establishing new underground connectivity or converting existing overhead infrastructure into underground systems within an already developed urban environment.
From a project to a long-term partnership
The expansion from the initial Aarey-BKC project to multiple additional cable corridors reflects the confidence placed in Sterlite Electric’s engineering, manufacturing and execution capabilities.
The engagement also demonstrates the value of an integrated approach spanning EHV cable design and manufacturing, Intelligent Sensing technology, underground installation, commissioning and intelligent asset monitoring.
For Mumbai, these projects represent another step towards a more resilient, increasingly underground and technology-enabled transmission network. For Sterlite Electric, the growing engagement demonstrates how engineering capability, digital intelligence and execution experience can come together to support the next generation of urban power infrastructure.
Featured photograph relating to Sterlite Electric’s cable and conductor manufacturing plant at Silvassa is for representation only