In terms of new power transmission lines and substations constructed, the performance in July 2020 has been much better than in the preceding month, latest statistics indicate.
Latest statistics released by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) suggest that India’s power transmission upgrade programme, as measured by the quantum of new transmission lines and substations constructed, performed better in July 2020 that in the preceding month.
The primary reason for this, as industry experts point, has been gradual relaxations in the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Project activity, it may be recalled, were severely hampered during March (last week) and April 2020.
Transmission Lines
According to the statistics, India could construct 1,248 ckm of new transmission lines in July 2020. This performance was not just better than in June 2020 when only 392 ckm of new lines could be constructed, it also exceeded the target of 1,200 ckm set for the month.
The 1,248 ckm of new transmission lines built in July 2020 saw contributions from all ownerships—Central agencies (mainly Power Grid Corporation of India), state utilities and even private sector companies. Central agencies constructed 567 ckm of lines (all 400kV type), followed by state government utilities with 445 ckm (all 220kV). Private sector entities could build 236 ckm of lines, all of the 400kV variety.
In terms of the cumulative performance during the April-July period of FY21, the quantum of transmission lines constructed stood at 2,339 ckm as against the target of 2,765 ckm. The target achievement during this period was 84.6 per cent, which was a marked improvement over the comparable 69.7 per cent during the April-June period of FY21.
| Power Transmission Upgrade | |||||
| Transmission Lines (ckm) | Substations (MVA) | ||||
| Jun 2020 | Jul 2020 | Jun 2020 | Jul 2020 | ||
| Planned | 845 | 1,200 | 6,930 | 7,675 | |
| Completed | 392 | 1,248 | 2,520 | 3,780 | |
| Source for basic data: Central Electricity Authority | |||||
Substations
In July 2020, a total of 3,780 MVA of transformation capacity was created. This was 50 per cent higher than the corresponding 2520 MVA of June 2020. However, in terms of targeted capacity addition, there was substantial shortfall in both June and July 2020. In the latest month, the achievement stood at around 49 per cent.
The under-performance in July 2020 was the result of a poor show by Central government entities. The transformation capacity added by this ownership class in July 2020 was a meagre 500 MVA, as against the target of 3,630 MVA. State government entities did well to add 2,280 MVA of capacity, followed by private sector entities that chipped in with 1,000 MVA.
NERSS-VI
The addition of power transmission infrastructure by the private sector, discussed above, was related to the North Eastern Region Strengthening Scheme VI (NERSS-VI). The special purpose vehicle Kohima Mariani Ltd (promoted by Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd) developing this scheme under the TBCB route, completed two project elements during July 2020. These are:
- New 400/220kV Kohima substation (1,000 MVA)
- New 400kV D/C Kohima (Nagaland) – Mariani (Assam) transmission line (236 ckm)
