The build-up of new transmission lines during the April-January period of FY24 was just two-thirds of the planned addition, according to statistics released by Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
In the said period, the country saw 9,985 ckm of new transmission lines getting added, which was just 67 per cent of the planned addition of 14,864 ckm.
The biggest shortfall was seen in the case of 400kV and 220kV lines while 765kV line addition surpassed the target.
In the 765kV segment, private sector entities drove the addition programme, commissioning 1,878 ckm of lines against the target of 1659 ckm. This excess indicates that some 765kV lines planned for commissioning during FY23 got spilt over to FY24. With a small contribution of 116 ckm of 765kV lines from the Central sector (entirely by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd), the total 765kV line addition during the April-January period of FY24 was 1,994 ckm, around 20 per cent higher than the target. (See table).
This superlative performance of 765kV did not have a major positive impact on the overall picture as 765kV lines account for a small percentage of the total. In the April-January period of FY24, only 20 per cent of the overall transmission line addition came from 765kV lines.
In the 400kV segment, only 3,791 ckm of lines got added in the April-January period of FY24, meeting barely 38 per cent of the planned 6,520 ckm. In this voltage class, the biggest deficit was due to state government transmission utilities that commissioned an uninspiring 662 ckm of 400kV lines, in the face of a 3,061-ckm target.
State government entities did not perform well on the 220kV front as well. As against a planned target of 6,514 ckm of 220kV lines, actual addition in the April-January period of FY24 by this ownership group was just 4,062 ckm – an achievement of about 42 per cent.
Target for FY24
For FY24, the transmission line addition target is 16,682 ckm across all voltage classes. Against this actual addition in the first ten months stood at 9,985 ckm, implying that as much as 6,697 ckm needs to be added in the two months of February and March 2024 for achieving the planned addition. This definitely looks untenable given the performance so far.
The state government ownership group is where the shortfall is concentrated. During the whole of FY24, state government utilities are expected to add 11,002 ckm of transmission lines across all voltages. This would account for 66 per cent of the country’s total addition. However, in the first ten months of FY24, actual addition by state government stood at just 4,724 ckm. In other words, this ownership group would need to add as much as 6,278 ckm in the remaining two months for achieving the planned addition. This effectively means exceeding their ten-month performance in just two months.
Also read: Transmission Line Addition Meets Only 64 Pc Of Target
