Days after the Central Electricity Authority team insisted on the need for the augmentation of Mumbai’s transmission capacity, Adani Transmission, the business arm of Adani Group, on Sunday, announced that it would focus on strengthening it. Considering anticipated load growth in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and realising that the load end generation has reduced compared to the load growth, Adani will execute two critical transmission projects that would help channelise additional power to the maximum city in an expedient and timely manner.
The company spokesman said these two projects are expected to create an additional transmission capacity of 1,000 MW each, thereby easing the existing transmission corridors. The first amongst the two is the Kharghar-Vikhroli 400/220 kV EHV transmission line project, which will not only ensure an additional 1,000 MW power supply corridor, but will be the city’s first 400 KV substation. The second transmission project is the 80 km high voltage direct current (HVDC) link between 400 kV substation of the MahaTransco at Kudus in Palghar district and Adani Electiricity’s 220kV substation at Aarey Colony. However, the company is silent on the capital expenditure it will incur on the commissioning of these two transmission links.
The company’s announcement comes after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray directed that the Vikhroli transmission project should be completed by 2023 and warned that he will not tolerate any delay. The company plans to complete the project by December, 2022. The project, which was originally conceived in 2009, has been delayed due to procedural and transmission reasons. Its absence was felt during the power grid failure on October 12.
Adani Transmission’s announcement comes a day after the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission will suo moto convene the virtual hearing on October 21 on the power grid failure that occurred on October 12, seeking details with regard to the strengthening of the transmission capacity and also the breakdown of the much debated Mumbai islanding system.
As far as the HVDC link is concerned, the company said it will be an underground HVDC cabled system that will enable the injection of an additional 1,000 MW into the load centre of Mumbai. Free Press Journal wrote about this last week after the Central Electricity Authority team made a strong case for an early execution of this HVDC link.
HVDC technology is tailor-made and modular in design, requires less footprint compared to conventional technology and has a unique feature of Black Start, thereby ensuring faster restoration of power supply in the events of widespread grid disturbances.
Adani has initiated land procurement, completed surveys, filed applications for regulatory, RoW and other statutory clearances, awarded consultancy contracts for system studies and is in the process of raising capital and finalising awards for project execution.
