Marginal decline in HVDC share in interregional transfer

 

The share of the HVDC line in the total quantum of interregional electricity exchange declined marginally in FY23 when compared with FY22.

According to a special study done by T&D India, based on official statistics recently released by Grid Controller of India Ltd (formerly POSOCO), HVDC lines transmitted a total quantum of 64,951 million kWh (million units or MU) of electricity in FY23, which was 27.5 per cent of the total interregional transfer in FY23 that stood at 236,153 MU. The corresponding share of HVDC lines in FY22 was 28.2 percent.

In absolute terms, however, HVDC-based interregional transfer showed a marginal year-on-year rise of 0.9 percent in FY23 to reach 64,951 MU from 64,345 MU in FY22.

The busiest HVDC line in FY23 was PGCIL’s 800kV Raigarh-Pugalur line which transmitted a total of 14,047 MU in FY23. Of this, 9,090 MU was from WR to SR, while the remaining was the reverse transfer (Pugalur-Raigarh) from SR to WR. In FY23, the Raigarh-Pugalur accounted for 22 percent of the total HVDC-based interregional transfer in FY23, much higher than the corresponding 17 percent in FY22.

Next in order of importance was the 500kV Talcher-Kolar HVDC line that essentially transfers electricity from ER to SR. The line transferred 13,757 MU in FY23, more or less unchanged from its level in FY22.

Incidentally, with a total transfer of 17,283 MU (from ER to SR), the 765kV EHVAC Angul-Srikakulam double-circuit line of PGCIL was the busiest transmission corridor in FY23.

The case of Adani Power’s 500kV Mundra-Mohindergarh HVDC line was interesting. While the line essentially transfers electricity from WR to NR, it was seen that in FY23, the transfer from NR to WR was very significant. In FY23, this line transmitted 2,777 MU from NR to WR, as against the highly insignificant 11 MU in FY22. On the other hand, transfer from WR to NR (its original purpose) fell to 2,288 MU in FY23 from 5,913 MU in FY22. Commissioned in around 2010, the Mundra-Mohindergarh corridor is India’s first private-sector HVDC line.

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In general, it was observed that HVDC lines, much like their AC counterparts, did higher transfers to WR. This was amply reflected in the fact that imports by WR (from all other regions) rose by as much as 17 percent year-on-year in FY23. NR was the biggest exporter to WR, followed by SR and ER.

(Key to abbreviations: NR = Northern Regional Grid, WR = Western Regional Grid, SR = Southern Regional Grid, ER = Eastern Regional Grid, NER = Northeastern Regional Grid)

Featured photograph (courtesy: Siemens Energy) is for representation only.