Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) has been assigned a project seeking to expand transformation capacity of the Tuticorin-II GIS Pooling Station in Tamil Nadu.
National Committee on Transmission (NCT) approved this project, estimated to cost Rs.101.50 crore, for implementation by PGCIL, under the regulated tariff mechanism (RTM) framework.
The project, scheduled to commission by March 2027, will involve putting up a 1×500 MVA, 400/230kV interconnecting transformer (ICT) at the Tuticorin-II PS. This will be the seventh such ICT at the pooling station.
The expansion project seeks to provide 130 MW of ISTS connectivity to NCL Industries for its upcoming renewable energy capacity.
Existing connectivity
Currently, connectivity of 2,640 MW (wind: 2,000 MW, solar: 640 MW) has been granted at the Tuticorin-II PS. As such, the pooling station was closed for further connectivity applications. However, during the NCT meeting, it was proposed that with some arrangement, a 7th ICT and a 230kV line bay could be accommodated at the pooling station.
It was also decided that if there are further connectivity applications, the possibility of building a new substation in the vicinity could be explored.
This augmentation scheme will be considered as an Associated Transmission System (ATS) scheme for the RE generation project seeking connectivity at the Tuticorin-II PS.
Tuticorin-II GIS PS
The Tuticorin-II PS was built by PGCIL as part of the Green Energy Corridor-I (GEC-I) project, with 2×500 MVA, 400/230kV transformation capacity. Subsequently, three more ICTs (of 500 MVA, 400/230kV) were put up, making a total of five such. Further, the 6th such ICT is currently under implementation by PGCIL, and the same is expected to commission by December 2025.
GEC-I
GEC-I is an intrastate system covering eight RE-rich states seeking to evacuate 24 GW of renewable energy capacity. It entails around 9,700 ckm of transmission lines supported by 22.6 GVA of transformation capacity.
The project is fully commissioned with respect to four states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In the remaining states – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh – extensions have been granted and full commissioning is expected by June 2025.
Also read: PGCIL gets extension in implementation timeframe for RTM projects
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