Adani Transmission Ltd (ATL), in a stock exchange filing, has clarified that Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has issued a statutory licence to build an HVDC link connecting the outskirts of Mumbai to the company’s Mumbai distribution licensee area.
ATL was responding to a clarification sought by Bombay Stock Exchange on the subject matter.
The MERC licence has been issued to Adani Electricity Mumbai Infra Ltd (AEMIL), a newly-formed subsidiary of Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd (AEML), for construction of a 1,000-mw HVDC (high voltage direct current) transmission link from Kudus in Maharashtra to Aarey in Mumbai, with an approximate length of 80 km. [AEML, in turn a subsidiary of ATL, is a power distribution licensee for the Mumbai area.]
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The project will be executed on “regulated principles” and shall qualify for regulated returns under Section 62 of the Electricity Act, ATL said. It may be mentioned that Section 62 allows for determination of tariffs in cases where the tariff based competitive bidding mechanism (TBCB) cannot be applied, in a very general sense.
The MERC licence that came into force on March 21, 2021 authorizes AEMIL (the transmission licensee) to build, own, operate and maintain the 1,000-mw HVDC link, for a period of 25 years. According to estimates available, the project cost is likely to be in the region of Rs.7,000 crore.
The biggest component of the transmission system will be ±320kV underground HVDC link between Aarey and Kudus, running 80 km. There will also be nine bays of 220kV and 14 bays of 400kV, apart from small lines connecting the Aarey (Adani Group) and Kudus (MSETCL) substations to the main HVDC line.
The HVDC system is envisaged for completion in 48 months.
Background
Following the grid collapse in Mumbai on October 12, 2020, the Maharashtra state government in November 2020 sanctioned a plan to build the HVDC link under discussion. The Mumbai grid collapse was due to cascade tripping at substations and transmission lines of MSETCL. (Related story)
(Featured photograph sourced from etechiraq.com is for illustration only)
