Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Powergrid Bikaner Transmission System Ltd, has commissioned an interstate transmission system (ISTS) scheme in Rajasthan.
In a brief stock exchange filing, PGCIL said that Powergrid Bikaner Transmission System Ltd has commissioned an ISTS scheme in Rajasthan, on build, own, operate and maintain (BOOM) basis, on July 24, 2023.
Powergrid Bikaner Transmission System Ltd was entrusted with the transmission project officially termed as “Transmission system strengthening scheme for evacuation of power from solar energy zones in Rajasthan (8.1 GW) under Phase-II Part-F.”
PGCIL had won this project under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) mode, by quoting a levelized annual tariff of Rs.140.486 crore.
According to information available with T&D India, this is the first ISTS scheme, under the TBCB route, to be commissioned during the current fiscal year, so far.
Background
Powergrid Bikaner Transmission Systems Ltd (originally known as Bikaner-II Bhiwadi Transco Ltd) was incorporated as a special purpose vehicle by bid process coordinator PFC Consulting Ltd (PFCCL), for implementing the aforementioned project.
PGCIL emerged as the successful and received the LoI from PFCCL on February 16, 2021. On March 25, 2021, PGCIL acquired 100 per cent shareholding in Bikaner-II Bhiwadi Transco Ltd, which was subsequently renamed to Powergrid Bikaner Transmission Systems Ltd (PBTSL). CERC granted transmission licence to PBTSL through its order dated July 15, 2021.
Project Cost
The capital outlay of the project is an estimated Rs.1,341 crore.
Major elements
The main elements of the project included:
- 400kV Bikaner II – Khetri double-circuit line (275 km)
- 400kV Khetri – Bhiwadi double-circuit line (125.6 km)
- New 400/220kV Bikaner II pooling station
Overall plan in Rajasthan
The Bikaner transmission project discussed in this story is part of an overall plan to develop transmission systems for evacuation of 20 GW of upcoming solar capacity in Rajasthan. While 8.9 GW comes under Phase-I, the remaining 11.1 GW forms part of Phase-II. Of the 11.1 GW falling under Phase-II, evacuation corresponding to 3 GW will come from intrastate schemes. The remaining 8.1 GW is distributed across key solar complexes – Bhadla (1.05 GW), Fatehgarh (2.2 GW), Ramgarh (1.9 GW) and Bikaner (2.95 GW).
Also read: PGCIL Committee Approves Investment In RTM Projects
RTM component
Powergrid Bikaner Transmission System Ltd, the transmission service provider, has also been granted transmission licence to some components, in addition to those envisaged under the original project described above. These additional components will be developed under the regulated tariff mechanism (RTM) route, and include 220kV bays for RE generators and 400/220kV ICTs at Bikaner-II pooling station (PS); one 400kV line bay at 400/220 kV Bikaner-II PS; and two 220kV line bays at 400/220kV Bikaner-II PS. It may be noted that Bikaner-II PS has been developed as part of the original TBCB project.
Featured photograph is for representation only.
