A power transmission scheme in Gujarat being implemented by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) is facing serious right-of-way constraints. Commissioning is expected to be delayed by at least ten months from the original schedule.
According to the latest status report by Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the Bhuj transmission scheme in Gujarat is expected to commission by end of October 2021, implying a delay of ten months from its original completion date of December 2020.
Officially termed as “Transmission Transmission System for providing connectivity to RE Projects at Bhuj-II (2000 mw) in Gujarat,” the project is being implemented by PGCIL under the build-own-operate-maintain (BOOM) modality.
PGCIL had won the project under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) route in July 2019, after quoting an annual levelized tariff of Rs.123.76 crore. It is being implemented by PGCIL’s wholly-owned subsidiary “Powergrid Bhuj Transmission Ltd”.
Transmission element
According to the latest status report, right-of-way constraints are impeding the transmission line element. The project involves reconfiguration of the Bhuj PS – Lakadia PS 765kV D/C line so as to establish Bhuj-II –Lakadia 765 kV D/C line as well as Bhuj-Bhuj-II 765kV D/C line.
The transmission line contract has been awarded to Transrail Lighting Ltd. As of August 31, 2021, stringing of 32 km was completed out of the total 106 km. A total of 188 towers have been erected out of 284.
On a 17.5-km stretch near the Bhuj-II substation, survey and associated work has been put on hold due to intense agitation by villagers on account of land compensation. Though PGCIL officials held meetings with locals in December 2020 and again in March 2021, no settlement could be reached. “Serious intervention of higher authorities is required,” the CEA report noted. In June 2021, CEA reviewed the project and sent a letter to Government of Gujarat, to resolve the RoW issue.
Substation element
The Bhuj transmission scheme also involves setting up of a 765/400/220kV GIS substation, official known as the Bhuj-II Pooling Station (PS) substation.
While land has not been a constraint for the substation project, it has been affected by delay in import of components from China. BHEL is the supplier of the 765kV transformer and bus reactors. The supply of these equipments has been delayed as bushings and CRGO steel are to be imported from China.
The GIS substation element has been contracted jointly to China-based company NVHS and Indian EPC major KEC International. There is some delay in sourcing of GIS-related components from NVHS, China. It may be mentioned that Indian vendors are also supplying some GIS-related components, under the “Make in India” initiative.
Major engineering activities on the GIS substation have been completed and civil construction work (foundation, building, etc) is currently underway.
Also read: Protecting The Great Indian Bustard: PGCIL To File Fresh Petition For Transmission Licence
Project objective
The Rs.645-crore Bhuj transmission project aims to provide strong interstate connectivity to various renewable energy projects envisaged in the vicinity of the upcoming Bhuj-II substation. This project is part of a larger scheme that aims to provide evacuation infrastructure for upcoming RE projects in Bhuj (2 GW potential), Dwarka (1.5 GW) and Lakadia (2 GW) – all in Gujarat.
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