The Committee of Directors on Investment in Projects of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) has approved investment in an interstate transmission system (ISTS) scheme “Eastern Region Expansion Scheme – XXXVII.”
In a stock exchange filing, PGCIL stated that the said committee, on October 20, 2023, approved investment of Rs.119.95 crore in the Eastern Region Expansion Scheme – XXXVII (ERES-XXXVII).
The project is expected to be commissioned by May 19, 2025, which is 24 months from the date of allocation of this project by National Committee on Transmission (NCT) to PGCIL.
Though the PGCIL stock exchange filing did not specify any further details on the project, it is reliably learnt that ERES-XXXVII broadly involves the creation of 220kV level and augmentation of transformation capacity of PGCIL’s 400/220kV Lakhisarai substation in Bihar.
As PGCIL is the owner of the 400/220kV Lakhisarai substation, NCT decided to award the project to PGCIL under the regulated tariff mechanism (RTM) route.
The project scope involves creation of 220kV level at the existing Lakhisarai GIS substation along with setting up of two 220kV line bays. The project also entails installation of 400/220kV, 2×500 MVA interconnecting transformers (ICTs) at the Lakhisarai substation. Currently, the transformation capacity at the substation is understood to be 715 MVA.
The rationale behind creating the 220kV level at the Lakhisarai substation is that Bihar State Power Transmission Company Ltd (BSPTCL) would be taking up an onward 220kV double-circuit transmission line from Lakhisarai substation to Haveli Kharagpur, as an intrastate transmission scheme.
This intrastate line, in turn, would support solar power evacuation of around 750 mw, coming up in the Kajra, Pirpainti and surrounding areas of Bihar, into the intrastate grid. This line would also facilitate power exchange between ISTS and Bihar’s intrastate network during both high-solar and non-solar periods.
Also read: PGCIL Wins Two More ISTS Schemes In TBCB Mode
Featured photograph (source: BSPTCL) is for representation only.
