The planned addition of transmission lines in the ongoing fiscal year FY23 has been set at a little over 21,000 ckm, which is nearly 10 per cent higher than the comparable level for FY22.
The latest report of Central Electricity Authority states that the planned addition of transmission lines during FY23 is 21,098 ckm – 9.6 per cent higher than the 19,255 ckm planned for FY22.
Over the past few years, the target achievement has been erratic. In FY20, for instance, only 11,664 ckm of new transmission lines could get commissioned as against the planned 23,621 ckm. This gave rise to an achievement ratio of less than 50 per cent.
Most of the lines planned for completion in FY20 spilled over to FY21. With the result, FY21 saw the commissioning of 16,750 ckm of lines that was in fact 6.1 per cent higher than what was planned (at 15,791 ckm).
It is also worth observing that this addition of 16,750 ckm worth of transmission lines in FY21 has been the highest annual achievement in recent history.
Returning to the targeted 21,098 ckm of lines in FY23, here are some observations:
- For FY23, the focus appears to be on 400kV and 220kV lines. There is no planned addition of HVDC lines and the target for 765kV lines is a meager 1,658 ckm. This makes a pale comparison with the 4,933 ckm of 765kV lines added in FY22. Going by this, it strongly appears that the focus in FY23 would be intrastate lines (that are usually sub-765kV) rather than interstate lines.
- It is also worth observing that of this rather muted target of 1,658 ckm of 765kV lines, the bulk is expected to come from private sector entities.
- Speaking of 400kV lines, a total of 9,479 ckm is planned for addition. This would represent nearly 45 per cent of the FY23 total. Of the target, state government entities would account for 53.3 per cent followed by Central utilities (mainly PGCIL) with 35.8 per cent. Private sector companies are expected to contribute the remaining 10.9 per cent of the planned addition for FY23.
- The bulk of the transmission line addition in FY23 is expected to come from 220kV lines. At 9,961 ckm, this would account for a little over 47 per cent of the year’s total. As expected, state government utilities, with a share of 53.3 per cent, would be shouldering most responsibility of this 220kV line addition.
Performance in FY22
The fiscal year FY22 that closed on March 31, 2022, saw the addition of 14,895 ckm of transmission lines. Unlike what is foreseen in FY23, the performance of 765kV lines was encouraging in FY22 with a total addition of 4,933 ckm representing a third of the year’s total achievement. State government utilities, mainly through 220kV lines, accounted for 60 per cent of the total addition in FY23.
Also Read: Substation capacity addition target up 17 per cent in FY23
