In your new role, you would also be looking at the infrastructure business of Sterlite Power. Tell us more.
The year 2022 marks my 24th year at Sterlite Group. For the past decade, I have been in the power business and prior to that, I was associated with telecom. In my new role as Director & CEO, I am responsible for the India Power transmission business, which includes Global Infrastructure portfolio along with the Solutions and Convergence business.
As India’s leading private sector power transmission infrastructure developer and solutions provider, we develop greenfield power transmission projects through TBCB (tariff-based competitive bidding) mode. In India, we have already delivered 11 transmission projects — some of the toughest in the country including NRSS-29 in Kashmir and NER-II in North East. Our under-execution projects today are advancing the carriage of a green energy future. The company also has a portfolio of high-performance power conductors (HPC), extra-high voltage (EHV) cables and optical ground wires (OPGW) and offers underground EHV turnkey services including cable laying and substation development. The company provides bespoke solutions for the upgrade, uprate and fiberization of existing transmission infrastructure projects.
Convergence operates at the confluence of the power and telecom infrastructure industries. Our transmission infrastructure and that of other power utilities and discoms is leveraged to roll out reliable wired and wireless telecommunications services, to people and organizations around the country.
How do you gauge the criticality of power transmission given that most of India’s current portfolio of ISTS projects is towards renewable energy evacuation?
I would like to laud the efforts of our Prime Minister for his bold RE vision for the country. We will have 50 per cent of our power generation from RE.
An emerging challenge from RE integration into the grid is that huge generation capacities are being added much faster than evacuation systems can be built. Hence, transmission systems should be planned of generation. Additionally, developing power transmission infrastructure is a bigger challenge as compared to RE power generation, as transmission is a linear project. As also, today, the transmission systems need to come up within a stringent time frame of 18-24 months to meet the pace of RE generation. RE-rich zones, with high solar insolation and wind speeds with abundant and economical land parcels, are all located away from the load centres.
The challenge then is to build transmission lines that consume the least RoW (right of way), commissioned in matching time frames of RE projects, and with the availability of efficient capital resulting in the least cost of supply. Solutions are available to build lines with higher line capacities at higher voltages, using lesser RoW and for enabling faster execution of projects e.g., by use of aerial technologies in construction. There are also opportunities available to crash timelines by optimizing the Gazette to RFP to award process followed for procurement of transmission services.
“An emerging challenge from RE integration into the grid is that huge generation capacities are being added much faster than evacuation systems can be built.”
Moreover, to ensure that we expedite transmission projects so that they are built in tandem with generation, we need to have a conducive policy and regulatory framework which is open to new technology adoption. Not only this, but efforts also need to be made to hasten forest/ wildlife approvals and RoW clearances. To fast-track RoW concerns, clear land compensation guidelines have been issued by Ministry of Power and efforts need to be made to ensure implementation by state government and local administration so that the projects are not delayed. Getting States to support ISTS projects where they do not see any advantage for transmission lines unless the state itself benefits from additional power is also an issue in obtaining clearances.
It is the responsibility of all stakeholders therefore to not only plan well but also to make sure that projects get commissioned as per the timelines. Finally, retrofitting existing transmission infrastructure and augmenting capacities is an environmentally friendly solution can be done in a timely and cost-effective manner as these do not require additional space/RoW.
I hear that the Union power ministry is working on a revised power transmission plan, which is a welcome move. We are looking forward to it.
Could you highlight new and promising technologies in the T&D segment?
Technology is enabling the transition from large scale centralised dispatchable power model, to a cleaner, decentralised and consumer-centric model.
Digitalization, high speed communication bandwidth availability, smart equipment which can self-diagnose and report, use of artificial intelligence techniques, machine learning, all of these are helping Grid operators to be well informed on a real time basis for better decision making, increase the utilization of the existing network capacities and optimize losses.
Increased adoption of High Performance Conductors (HPC) in greenfield transmission projects will significantly benefit by resulting in increased MW power flow per meter of RoW while doing away with the need for underground cables. Similarly, adoption and large-scale implementation of energy storage technologies is also imperative for the Indian Grid. Independent Energy Storage parks at key locations in the Grid can serve as a game changer for dealing with RE or grid fluctuations from a wider perspective, as compared to a pure IPP or pure discom perspective. Their utilization and return of investment could come much faster when they serve multiple constituents of the Grid for multiple purposes.
Over the years, Sterlite Power has set new benchmarks in the industry, with the use of cutting-edge technologies to deliver some of the toughest power transmission projects sustainably, in record timelines. Some of the technology-led innovative measures that we have used/are currently using are:
- Vertical gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) substations been built on 3.8 acres in Gurgaon, saving 75 per cent of land size needed as in the case of conventional substation of similar capacity. The government can consider the advantage of building such substations when it comes to saving on land and RoW in congested cities
- Aerial technologies including helicrane-based tower erection, helicopter and drone stringing
Satellite imagery and machine learning-driven software to optimise transmission line routes
Uprate and upgrade projects aimed at helping the state governments to transform traditional energy delivery networks with Multi Circuit Multi Voltage (MCMV) towers, micro piles for tower foundations, monopoles instead of lattice - Sterlite Power recently won the IDC Industry Innovation Awards (IDCIIA) 2021 in the Innovation in Data Intelligence category. The award was for our in-house developed geographic information system-based intelligent route mapping and survey with TransAnalyst and CanvasR. This technology solution improves survey reliability and route generation accuracy and reduces the time for route generation. It also enables data-based decisions, thereby helping reduce project execution timelines.
- High Performance Conductor (HPC) technology is an ‘environmentally friendly’ & cost-effective solution to retrofit existing brownfield infrastructure and augment capacity, using the same corridor footprint, without taking up any additional land or space. Hence, it is crucial, that transmission system planning & philosophy optimize additional capacity by augmenting transmission systems.
How can new technology in power transmission be encouraged?
To boost the use of new technology, government should think on the lines of offering incentives to developers for commissioning projects ahead of the scheduled date. This will promote innovation in power transmission technology and project implementation techniques.
RfPs for construction of transmission lines should only specify technical performance matrix, instead of specifying materials and designs. Currently, the construction of transmission lines is mandated to follow design and technology prescriptions. This often does not leave room for the adoption of new and relevant technologies. Embracing internationally recognized and established solutions and technologies will enable power transmission to become reliable and cost efficient. CEA’s Technical Regulation for the construction of transmission and substation are wide enough for adoption of technology. However, RfP are prescriptive in nature, which impedes the freedom of design.
For example, in countries like Brazil, bidders have enough freedom to design and develop the project by adhering to the minimal technical and performance requirements as per the Grid Code and other specific requirements per the bidding documents. The bidding document provides voltage rating, switching schemes, land area dimensions for the substations, the Surge Impedence Loading (SIL) and losses for lines, the maximum reactance, reference corridor and length etc. The Bidder, however, is free to decide on the position and layout of substations, the equipment to be installed, the civil design, communication and supervision systems, cable definition, tower structure, routing, span and tower spotting, civil and foundation designs for the towers. All this will be geared towards saving land, faster implementation.
Energy storage is fast coming up as an important element in India’s power value chain. Any plans of entering this sector?
There is increased focus from the government on promoting additional energy storage services to the Indian grid. Large tenders for procurement of grid scale energy storage services are in the works from SECI and NTPC, totaling 4,000 MWh. Going forward, the government will need to ensure that the targeted uptake of energy storage technologies does not get stuck. The recently notified RPO trajectory till 2029-30, for the first time, has shifted focus from a solar led growth of renewable, to development of new wind and hydro capacities in a targeted manner, as well as put in a Storage Purchase Obligation. This new notification will also help in bring focus on creation of storage facilities across the country at local level to inter regional level, which will provide huge support for grid management. To facilitate this in the most optimal manner, just like ISTS charges waiver was extended to energy storage systems, other applicable benefits such as taxation and accelerated depreciation benefits that are available for RE need to be extended to energy storage projects as well. The government’s recommendation to implement a uniform slab of 5 per cent GST on clean energy technologies across the country is also a positive move.
Technology is enabling the transition from large scale centralised dispatchable power model, to a cleaner, decentralised and consumer-centric model.
Sterlite Power has predominantly been active in interstate transmission system (ISTS) projects. Would you be keen on intrastate projects as well, under the TBCB route?
Yes! In fact, given the pro industrialisation outlook of the country, states also needs to promote competition and adopt the TBCB route for building their intra-state transmission network to avail the benefits of lower tariffs, faster execution, and adoption of innovative new technologies.
Despite the aggressive execution timelines for the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) projects at ISTS level, each of the GEC bids saw healthy competition from multiple power sector players and such competition also led to about 35-40 percent transmission tariff reduction compared to a normative cost-plus tariff of these transmission assets.
“I would reiterate that TBCB results in significant saving in time and cost. The biggest benefit is that you have a developer coming in to shoulder the project risks.”
Taking a cue from this positive development, more states should join the likes of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab which have already developed a framework or brought out projects under competitive bidding.
I would reiterate that TBCB results in significant saving in time and cost. The biggest benefit is that you have a developer coming in to shoulder the project risks, while the funds that states would have otherwise deployed for power transmission upgrade, can be repurposed for critical areas like healthcare, water supply, sanitation, etc.
Why should state governments also go in for brownfield projects?
There is no better way to contribute to nation building than to contribute towards the energy security, aligned with government’s vision of a resilient power rich country. We, at Sterlite Power, are known for our ability to deliver challenging projects on time, while delivering strong returns to our investors.
State power utilities have limited budget to solve the problems of congestion and on average new lines take 3-4 years to commission. Our solutions of uprate and upgrade of transmission lines solve key constraints around time, space, and capital. These solutions have the potential to solve transmission congestion challenges in all states towards ensuring 24×7 reliable power. Our uprating solutions reduce the losses and better the tower clearances and loading conditions. Hence, increasing the transmission capacity by almost 2x to 3x. Upgrading of transmission lines result in 6x to 12x increase in the throughput is achieved via voltage upgradation through high performance and special conductors on existing power lines in the same corridor. It helps in reducing the footprint and decrease in transmission losses.
We give them immediate solutions like reconductoring of existing corridors, improvising on the voltage, etc. The introduction of new technologies in India like high-ampacity HTLS conductors helps in increasing the power transmission capacity in a much shorter time. The I²R losses of the HTLS conductor is 20 to 25 per cent less compared with the conventional conductor. this helps in delivering quality and added value to our customers.
“Embracing internationally recognized and established solutions and technologies will enable power transmission to become reliable and cost efficient.”
Case in point is our effort in Kerala where we partnered with the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to increase the power transmission capacity of the existing corridor in Kerala from 250 MW to 2,500 MW. We brought in new technologies such as drones for stringing of conductors and other such technologies to address the constraints of time, space and capital. This was the first time in India that a utility company tendered a project for designing a transmission line using the new conditions. For Kerala, our tech driven solution paved the way for 24×7 quality power to meet the aspirations of people and industries.
Such solutions show results, and that too, at much lower cost and gestation period. As a company, we have done multiple projects where we have multiplied transmission capacity by 20x to 30x in existing corridors. State utilities, are therefore, now more receptive. That said, there is always an opportunity to do more. Allocation of resources for upgrades, rebuilds, etc. will help in driving transmission development of the states in a much more focused manner.
There is a feeling that the developer base of TBCB projects is changing, with some of the older players staying away or selling off their projects, and new players entering. What is your take on the matter?
Transmission is the most vital link in the power sector value chain connecting generation and distribution. Ministry of Power has shown a continuous commitment towards Public Private partnership in different spheres of power sector, TBCB being one of them. It is not just attracting a lot of private investment but also competition and has laid a level playing field for all players while greatly reducing project cost and timelines. Success of BOOM projects is a good testimony of healthy private participation in the sector.
The TBCB pipeline is also very strong. We have Rs.30,000-40,000 crore worth of projects every year. This is unprecedented. And, if we were to accomplish our vision of 500 GW of RE capacity by 2030, transmission upgrade is crucial.
Executing linear projects like transmission, however, is a complex affair. Challenges like RoW, timely forest and wildlife approvals, land acquisitions, stringent timeline of 18-24 months etc requires high level of expertise, capabilities and risk taking.
Including Sterlite Power, there are limited big players in this segment who have been consistently delivering challenging projects, leveraging the key constraints of time, space, and capital. Development of power transmission projects require a certain expertise which comes with experience. New players will have to gain a lot of ground to be able to successfully execute transmission projects amidst the growing challenges in this sector.
I would only like to state that the success of a project will be in executing it in a right and timely manner, and not just by winning it.
As we understand, Sterlite Power currently has around five interstate TBCB projects under construction; are these projects broadly on schedule?
Sterlite Power enjoys a strong track record of delivering critical and challenging projects on or before schedule. Despite the COVID-induced restrictions, largely our projects are on track.
As an organisation, we are guided by our core-purpose, ‘Empowering humanity by addressing the toughest challenges of energy delivery’. This spirit is seen in all our project works, which are driven by innovation, execution, and engineering excellence. It keeps us going during the toughest of times to deliver value to the customer and keep lights on in homes across the country. A few key accomplishments that we are particularly proud of this year include:
We are bringing reliable and quality power to the people of the Northeast, with the critical Northeast Region Strengthening Scheme (NER II). The states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura, have all been positively impacted with 24/7 electricity due to this project.
We recently commissioned the Khargone Transmission Project in Madhya Pradesh which is helping evacuate 1,320 MW of power generated by the Khargone power plant to 765kV Khandwa substation. This power is being distributed downstream positively impacting Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Goa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu with quality 24×7 power.
“I would reiterate that TBCB results in significant saving in time and cost. The biggest benefit is that you have a developer coming in to shoulder the project risks.”
We are well poised to deliver our GEC project, Lakadia Vadodara Transmission Project Ltd (LVTPL). This is a project for transmission system strengthening to relieve over loadings in Gujarat intrastate system due to RE injections in Bhuj substation. Upon completion of this project both western and eastern Gujarat will be impacted positively with reliable and quality power, along with parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The Udupi-Kasargode transmission scheme, which traverses Karnataka and Kerala, is expected to complete next year. Our two projects on the western and eastern region strengthening are also doing well.
Moreover, we have also won two new ISTS projects — Nangalbibra-Bongaigaon inter-state power transmission project (NBTL) and Kishtwar project in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir. NBTL will provide more than 1,000 MW of power towards meeting the increasing power demand in Meghalaya. In both these projects, we are awaiting signing of the TSA (transmission service agreement).
What is the “convergence” business that we often hear about?
Convergence services allow for power utility infrastructure to be leveraged by telcos and other communication service providers to deliver reliable connectivity around the country.
Sterlite Convergence is the leading best-in-class neutral dark fibre solution providers in the country, utilizing its highly reliable OPGW network. We provide the best uptime in the industry using high quality fibre with less attenuation. Our co-location service provides a flexible rental rack space in a highly secured location with uninterrupted power supply and multiple back-up power. The Tower Infrastructure services include lease of the huge network of transmission towers for telecommunication and IoT services
We also support cities with FTTX solutions. The use of fiber on transmission helps in ensuring reliable bandwidth, longer distance, low latency and faster speed. Our very competent team has delivered a prestigious Smartcity Project in the Millennium City of Gurgaon (Haryana) in the year 2019. This is a PPP model project wherein we have built an intracity network for the Local Authority – GMDA (Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority) for their Smartcity solutions and in parallel also built a local/ intracity network for our dark fiber business.
” Addition of the MTCIL network will enable the company to leverage the existing power utility infrastructure for telecommunications purposes and tap into the fast-growing data market.”
Sterlite Power, a leading power transmission developer and solutions provider, has announced the acquisition of 64.98 per cent equity stake in Maharashtra Transmission Communication Infrastructure Ltd (“MTCIL”) – a joint venture with Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (“MSETCL”). MTCIL is the only public private partnership in India for OPGW fiber networks operating on a ‘BOOM’ model. This stake acquisition is aligned with Sterlite Power’s strategy for its Convergence Business that aims to create the largest OPGW fiber network in the country. Addition of the MTCIL network will enable the company to leverage the existing power utility infrastructure for telecommunications purposes and tap into the fast-growing data market.
India’s data market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 12 per cent, to reach a size of around Rs.77,000 crore by FY26. OPGW fiber network offers a reliable data delivery solution to address the rising data consumption and digitalization wave in the country.
How is the company doing in terms of exports?
In exports, we have a high focus on Europe, and Americas as they are shifting towards renewable energy and working on one grid concept. We have about 40-50 per cent of products going to exports to various countries in Africa, Americas, SAARC, Europe. Internationally, we are focused on solutions towards renewable energy that promote decarbonization. In addition, we see huge potential internationally as there is a lot of cross-country interconnections coming up in Europe, Africa.
As we close, how do you see the next 3-5 years for Sterlite Power, in terms of its transmission business?
India’s energy sector is set to witness the most exciting times in coming years. The outlook is positive, and we are very upbeat to contribute towards the energy security. The government has also been very supportive. India wants to generate 50 per cent of its electricity using renewables by 2030. This means that we will have to double up the pace of RE generation in the next few years This is massive and as a nation if we want to achieve this, funding for renewables as well as Transmission infrastructure needs to go up in tandem.
To meet the solar and wind capacity targets alone, BNEF has estimated a requirement of $223 billion of investments. For Transmission too, BNEF has projected $137 billion investments in this decade (up to 2030). Clearly, it spells enormous opportunities for the transmission sector. As per ISTS network expansion plan, projects worth nearly Rs.1,25,000 crore have been identified and planned for execution till FY27. This amounts to new addition of some 32,000 ckm and 2,17,000 MVA of ISTS transmission capacity by FY27.
For GEC-2, intrastate pipeline of some Rs.12,031 crore is identified. These are to be implemented across the states of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, and Uttar Pradesh.
The intrastate segment is also showing promising signs of implementing transmission projects in TBCB mode. Key states like Gujarat, Odisha, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh etc. are in the process of adopting TBCB mode for bidding Transmission projects. The InSTS pipeline is robust too, spelling an opportunity worth nearly Rs.10,000 crore till FY24.
Beyond this as well, on the technical side, solutions to uprate and upgrade existing infrastructure to enhance corridor capacities will go hand in hand with greenfield projects to keep up with the challenges of RoW as well as the speed of project completion. We expect the market to grow at a CAGR of nearly 35 per cent in this financial year.
New states have started exploring Uprate Solution as viable option to retrofit ageing infrastructure. We aim to reap the benefits of being early pioneers in this business segment and others trying to replicate our model. In products, there is a huge opportunity in the form of upcoming TBCB Bids with a strong demand forecast for High Performance Conductors. Additionally, our exports business has grown multi-fold in the last 2-3 years and the market prospect look good in the near term, especially in North America, Europe and Africa. We are at the right place at the right time for our cables business as power demand is growing exponentially in cities. We are also focusing on technical innovation, and engineering. When it comes to manufacturing, we are highly focused on high-performance products with a view to lowering the carbon footprint.
Data traffic in India has grown exponentially in the last few years and is projected to grow 4x over next 5 years from 12 ExaBytes per month in 2021 to around 50 ExaBytes per month by FY27. Our Convergence business is well poised to tap this growth and continue its journey of being a pan-India neutral fiber company.
