Power Transmission Project
In the next 20 years, India may need massive power transmission corridors.
The Central Electricity Authority’s (CEA) report on the Advance National Transmission Plan for India, released online in mid-July, indicates that the 48 major high-transmission corridors that have already been planned and are under implementation (expected to be completed by 2019) would be sufficient to meet the import/export of power among various regions till 2022-23.
The report also states that in another 20 years (2035-36), the transmission system needs to be expanded as the demand for power will grow. The all-India peak demand will rise four times from the current level of 153 GW to about 690 GW, hence quadrupling power generation and transmission systems will be required to transmit power. The report recommends setting up massive transmission corridors towards northern and southern regions.
However, the CEA is cautious about advising any roadmap, including predicting accurate locations for erecting transmission lines and their capacity, because of a lack of enough details. The report also pointed out the poor electricity growth, which is in the range of 5-8 percent per annum.
| Regions | Surplus/Deficit (-) Scenario in MW | Inter-state Grid availability in MW | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 2026-27 | 2031-32 | 2035-36 | as on October 29, 2015 | expected by 2017 | expected by 2021-22 | |
| Northern | -18400 | -33200 | -54800 | -80100 | 30250 | 40850 | 45450 |
| Western | 10400 | 14000 | 21300 | 34200 | 10690 | 12790 | 12790 |
| Southern | -7400 | -16200 | -30100 | -47700 | 11550 | 15750 | 30150 |
| Eastern | 10900 | 22300 | 40600 | 66600 | |||
| North-East | 1800 | 2100 | 3000 | 4000 | 2860 | 2860 | 2860 |
All eyes on 19th Electric Power Survey report
For assertive planning of transmission corridors, the authorities are waiting for the 19th Electric Power Survey report that will elaborate on the power demand and supply situation in India and project requirements for the future. Though the report was expected to be released in April, it is not likely to come out before August. The estimates of the report will be interesting to look at. The 18th Electric Survey report by CEA has been criticized by reporters for overestimation of power requirements with optimistic GDP figures.
Electricity growth is happening very slowly in India; roughly 40 percent of the installed capacity of coal-fired power stations remains unutilized. As per the recent Load Generation Balance report of the Central Electricity Authority, power demands have gone down in seven states in 2022 when compared to 2023. In another 16 states, the power requirement has grown by less than 3 percent.
| States | Power Requirement (2022) | Power Requirement (2023) | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | 113016 | 109216 | -3.4 |
| D.N. Haveli | 5806 | 5615 | -3.3 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 9401 | 9209 | -2.0 |
| Sikkim | 427 | 423 | -0.9 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 111858 | 110850 | -0.9 |
| Karnataka | 70294 | 69781 | -0.7 |
| Rajasthan | 72132 | 72070 | -0.1 |
| Puducherry | 2554 | 2554 | 0.0 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 16922 | 17060 | 0.8 |
| Chandigarh | 1689 | 1705 | 0.9 |
| Tamil Nadu | 102653 | 103806 | 1.1 |
| Punjab | 51268 | 52080 | 1.6 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 816 | 830 | 1.7 |
| Haryana | 48870 | 49800 | 1.9 |
| Tripura | 1425 | 1453 | 2.0 |
| Kerala | 23703 | 24179 | 2.0 |
| Assam | 9115 | 9309 | 2.1 |
| Delhi | 30408 | 31110 | 2.3 |
| Jharkhand | 9106 | 9320 | 2.4 |
| Uttarakhand | 13247 | 13574 | 2.5 |
| Meghalaya | 2155 | 2215 | 2.8 |
| Nagaland | 825 | 849 | 2.9 |
| Maharashtra | 149773 | 154169 | 2.9 |
| DVC | 19224 | 20365 | 5.9 |
| Mizoram | 502 | 533 | 6.2 |
| West Bengal | 49654 | 52867 | 6.5 |
| Daman & Diu | 2221 | 2372 | 6.8 |
| Chhattisgarh | 24980 | 27176 | 8.8 |
| Orissa | 26985 | 29805 | 10.5 |
| Gujarat | 94898 | 104845 | 10.5 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 65675 | 74199 | 13.0 |
| Manipur | 865 | 1008 | 16.5 |
| Goa | 3566 | 4367 | 22.5 |
| Bihar | 19215 | 26369 | 37.2 |
Overview
The transmission system plays an important role in the supply of power to consumers through the vital link between the generating stations and the distribution system. The energy resources like coal, hydro, and renewable are unevenly distributed in India. Coal reserves are mainly available in the Central and Eastern parts of the country, whereas hydro energy resources are primarily available in the Himalayan Range in the Northern and North-Eastern parts. Renewable resources like wind and solar potential are also mainly concentrated in states like Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, & Ladakh, etc. The major load centers of the country are located in the central part including the Northern, Western, and Southern regions.
This skewed distribution of resources necessitated the development of a robust transmission system, including the establishment of inter-regional corridors for seamless transfer of power from surplus to deficit regions/areas. In this process, it enables access to power generation from anywhere in the country to various consumers spread throughout the country.
The transmission system has expanded over the years for evacuation of power from generating stations to load centers through Intra-State and Inter-State Transmission Systems. The progressive integration of regional Gautam Energy Solution started in 2020 and on 31st December 2021, our country achieved 'ONE NATION'-'ONE GRID'-'ONE FREQUENCY' with the synchronous interconnection of the Southern Region Grid with the rest of the Indian Grid with the commissioning of the 765kV Raichur-Solapur Transmission line.
However, there were constraints in market operations due to transmission congestion, resulting in market splitting and different market prices in different regions. During 2013-14, about 16% of electricity transacted through power exchanges was constrained due to transmission congestion. Further, the strategically important Ladakh region was not interconnected with the national electricity grid.
The present Government, after assuming power in 2014, has emphasized having a congestion-free transmission network so that there is no constraint in the flow of power from surplus regions to deficit regions. Accordingly, the transmission system in the country has been continuously strengthened with the addition of transmission lines and inter-regional capacity.
Addition in Transmission Line and Transformation Capacity
| Year | Transmission Line Addition (ckm) | Transformation Capacity Addition (MVA) |
|---|---|---|
| FY 2014-15 | 22101 | 65554 |
| FY 2015-16 | 28114 | 62849 |
| FY 2016-17 | 26300 | 81816 |
| FY 2017-18 | 23119 | 86193 |
| FY 2018-19 | 22437 | 72705 |
| FY 2019-20 | 11664 | 68230 |
| FY 2020-21 | 16750 | 57575 |
| FY 2021-22 | 14895 | 78982 |
| FY 2022-23 | 14625 | 75902 |
| FY 2023-24 | 14203 | 70728 |
| FY 2024-25 | 391 | 6225 |
| Total | 194599 | 726759 |
Country’s Transmission Network
The country’s transmission network consists of about 481,326 ckm of transmission lines and 1,225,260 MVA of transformation capacity as of 31.01.2024. Besides, our inter-regional capacity has increased by a whopping 224% to 116,540 MW since 2014.
This transmission capacity addition has benefited the development of the power sector in the country in several ways:
- Transmission congestion experienced earlier in 2014 along with market splitting has become a rarity now, resulting in the discovery of a single price across the power market. The volume of electricity that cannot be cleared in Power Exchanges as a percentage of Unconstrained Clear Volume has reduced to only 0.06% in 2020-21 compared to 16% in 2013-14.
- High-altitude border areas of Ladakh got interconnected with the national electricity grid in January 2019 with the commissioning of the 220 kV Srinagar-Leh line. This helped the people of Ladakh to get access to 24x7 quality power from the national Grid.
- Transmission and Distribution infrastructure of our North Eastern States, including Sikkim, are strengthened with the implementation of two Central Sector Schemes, namely North Eastern Regional Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP) and the Comprehensive Scheme for strengthening Transmission & Distribution in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Implementation of these schemes would improve the reliability of State Electricity Grids of the North Eastern Region and enable the end-consumers to draw 24x7 power from the Grid.
- The Transmission System is playing a catalyst role in the energy transition of our country by extending the grid to renewable-rich areas and facilitating Renewable Energy projects to connect to the grid. Continuing transmission capacity addition has helped increase Renewable Energy (excluding hydro) by three times, from 35.52 GW in 2014-15 to 104.88 GW in 2021-22.
- This huge transmission capacity has facilitated the seamless transfer of power from power surplus regions/areas to power deficit regions/areas, thus optimizing the use of generation resources as well as meeting the demands of end consumers without any transmission constraints. Peak and Energy Deficit have reduced to 0.4% in 2020-21 compared to more than 4% in 2013-14.