India’s substation capacity addition in the first half (April to September) of FY24 barely met 50 per cent of the planned addition.
According to latest official statistics, India saw the addition of 22,126 MVA of substation (transformation) capacity in H1 of FY24 that was just 49.6 per cent of the planned addition of 44,644 MVA.
In the Central government sector, which mainly includes Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), the achievement ratio was a much healthier 78 per cent. The private sector also did well to record a target-achievement of 75 per cent.
However, it should be noted that as far as the overall planned addition goes, state government utilities accounted for nearly 70 per cent of the planned addition. The poor achievement ratio of this ownership group was therefore responsible for the overall dismal performance.
A detailed analysis of the performance suggests that state government utilities failed to deliver on the 765kV and 400kV voltage categories; most of the transformation capacity added was of the 220kV class. In H1 of FY24, state government utilities (transmission companies) had planned to add 7,500 MVA of transformation capacity in the 765kV class. As against this, the actual achievement was nil. In the 400kV class, 3,390 MVA was added by this ownership group as against 9,465 MVA planned – barely 36 per cent achievement.
Central agencies performed their best in the 400kV class, adding 5,935 MVA as against 6,435 MVA planned. In the 765kV category, this ownership group put up 1,500 MVA, half of the planned 3,000 MVA.
The private sector added 3,000 MVA of transformation capacity, all at the 765kV level and in tune with what was planned. This ownership group, however, did not add any capacity at the 400kV level, in the face of 1,000 MVA planned. The entire 3,000 MVA added by the private sector came from Adani Group that commissioned the 765/400kV Warangal (New) substation in Telangana, equipped with 2×1,500 MVA transformers and 2×240 MVAr bus reactors.
No HVDC-based transmission lines or transformation capacity has been envisaged in FY24.
For the full year FY24, the planned transformation capacity addition is 78,109 MVA. With half the year gone by, the achievement so far is just 28 per cent. In FY23, actual transformation capacity addition stood at 75,902 MVA.
It may be noted that the substation (transformation) capacity addition discussed in this story relates only to the voltage class 220kV and above.
Also read: Substation Capacity Addition Meets Less Than Half Of Target
Featured photograph (source: MPPTCL) is for representation only.
