5th Annual Conference on

Power Transmission in India

Requirements, Plans, Technologies and Regulation

April 30 May 1, 2012

Key Trends and Outlook

Agenda

State of the Sector

Plans and Achievements

Market Structure
Regulations
Technology Trends
Issues and Challenges
Conclusion
2

Sector Size and Growth

Growth in Line Length
300,000

274,882

250,000
210,004

222,746

236,467

254,536

The transmission line length has been

growing at a CAGR of 7% between 200708 and 2011-12

ct. km

200,000
150,000
100,000

Growth driven by 400 kV lines

50,000

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

Growth in Substation Capacity

450,000
383,465

400,000

345,513

350,000

MVA

300,000

273,862

292,891

310,051

765 kV line length has doubled

between 2009-10 and 2011-12

While interstate transmission lines

have grown at a CAGR of 11%,
intrastate has grown at 5% only
Substation capacity grew at a CAGR of
9% between 2007-08 and 2011-12

Interstate transformer capacity grew

at a CAGR of 14% while intrastate at
a much lower 7%

250,000

200,000
150,000

100,000
50,000

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

Voltage-wise Break-up of Transmission Network

Line Length
160,000

140,000

28.9

The transmission network is dominated

by 220 kV lines, followed by 400 kV

30.0

118,098

25.0

100,000

20.0

80,000

15.0

12.0

60,000

10.0

9.3

40,000

20,000

35.0

ct.km

120,000

140,295

9,432

7,057

4.2

765 kV lines have grown at a CAGR

of 29% between 2007-08 and 201112

5.0
0.0

765 kV

500 kV
HVDC

400 kV

Line length

220 kV

Powergrid is setting up the first 800

kV HVDC line (Biswanath-ChariyaliAgra Bipole)

Growth

Substation Capacity
250,000

221,283

31.6

Similar trends are visible for the

substation capacity as well

25.0

148,682

20.0
%

MVA

400 kV level has witnessed a higher

growth than 220 kV level

35.0
30.0

200,000
150,000

However, the trend has been a movement

towards higher voltage levels

15.0

100,000
9.6

10.0
7.4

50,000

13,500
-

5.0

Aurangabad-Wardha 400 kV Quad D/C

line has been designed such that it can
be converted to 1,200 kV S/C line

0.0
765 kV

400 kV

Substation capacity

220 kV
Growth

Interregional Transfer Capacity

Growth in Interregional Transfer Capacity

25,000

22,350
20,750

20,750

2008-09

2009-10

23,750

20,000
16,950

14,050

MW

15,000

10,000
5,050
5,000

End of Ninth End of Tenth

Plan
Plan

2007-08

2010-11

2011-12*

* As of December 2011

The inter-regional transmission capacity stood at 23,750 MW as of December 2011

Growth has been slow over the past 3-4 years
Considering a capacity addition of 76,000 MW in the 12th Plan, interregional links of about
38,000 MW capacity are planned to be added during this Plan period
5

Agenda

State of the Sector

Plans and Achievements

Market Structure
Regulations
Technology Trends
Issues and Challenges
Conclusion
6

Eleventh Plan Targets and Achievements

Transmission Line Length (ct. km)
60,000
49,396

50,000

40,066

40,000

32,139

30,000

26,122

The total programme for the Eleventh Plan

was around 84,000 ct. km line length and
134,000 MVA substation capacity

20,000
10,000

1,530 3,560

2,269 3,288

500 kV HVDC

765 kV

Programme

400 kV

220 kV

Achievement

Around 130,000 MVA substation capacity

has been added implying 97% achievement

Substation Capacity (MVA)

70,000

60,750

60,000

More than 69,000 ct. km line length has

been added implying 82% achievement

66,654 64,387

52,275

Private sector (through JVs) has

contributed 3,700 ct. km and 2,197 MVA
765 kV and 500 kV HVDC levels have
seen good growth during the Plan period

50,000

40,000
30,000
20,000

10,000

13,500
6,484

2,500 1,000

500 kV HVDC

765 kV

Programme

400 kV

220 kV

Achievement

Twelfth Plan Targets

Twelfth Plan Targets for Transmission Capacity

38,000

40,000

ct. km

30,000

35,000

27,000

20,000
9,440

10,000

0
765 kV

400 kV

220 kV

+/- 800 HVDC and +/500 HVDC

Investment required for 12th Plan estimated at Rs 1,800 billion Rs 1,000 billion by central
sector, Rs 550 billion by state sector and Rs 250 billion by private sector
Total substation capacity addition during 12th Plan expected to be 270,000 MVA taking total
capacity at end of 12th Plan to more than 640,000 MVA
HVDC capacity of 13,000 MW expected to be added during the 12th Plan period
Around 38,000 MW of inter-regional capacity is expected to be added during the 12th Plan
Huge growth in 765 kV transmission lines and substations planned for evacuation of bulk power

Planned Transmission Corridors

Cluster

Installed capacity
(MW)

Number of IPPs

LTOA granted (MW)

Corridor cost (Rs

million)

Orissa

10,090

6,080

87,520

Jharkhand

4,540

4,084

57,090

Sikkim

2,358

2,358

13,040

Bilaspur and Madhya

Pradesh

4,370

4,160

12,430

13

15,485

15,185

288,240

Krishnapatnam

4,600

3,072

20,650

Tuticorin

2.600

2,045

23,570

Srikakulam

3,960

3,760

29,860

Cuddalore/Nagapattinam

3,570

2,987

NA

Vemagiri

5,400

5,150

NA

IPPs in Southern Region

11,526

9,227

48,210

55

56,973

48,881

580,610

Chhattisgarh

Total

Powergrid is constructing 11 high capacity transmission corridors, at an estimated cost of Rs 580

billion to facilitate power transfer from various upcoming IPP generation projects
Planned transmission lines: 23,000 ct. km more than 70% will be 765 kV lines
Planned substations - 29 nos. of more than 60,000 MVA capacity
Four HVDC terminals of 7,000 MW capacity also planned
9

Agenda

State of the Sector

Plans and Achievements

Market Structure
Regulations
Technology Trends
Issues and Challenges
Conclusion
10

Market Structure

Cost plus Tariff

Central
Transmission
Utility

State
Transmission
Utilities

Joint
Ventures

Tariff-based
Competitive Bidding

Private
Players

11

Private Sector Participation

Interstate Transmission Projects
Seven Independent Power
Transmission Companies

Intra-state Transmission Projects

3 Joint Ventures with State
Transmission Company (Mahatransco)

RPTL: 3 projects

JSW Energy

STL: 3 projects

Adani Power

Patel Engineering- BS
TransComm and Simplex
Infrastructure Consortium: 1
project

Indiabulls

Five projects in pipeline

Six Joint Ventures with Powergrid
Tata Power, Reliance, Torrent,
Jaiprakash Hydro, Teesta Urja,
and ONGC Tripura Power
Company

Eight projects awarded through bidding

route
Haryana: 1 project
Rajasthan: 5 projects
Uttar Pradesh: 2 projects

12

Private Sector Participation

RPTLs Transmission Projects

Adani Powers Transmission Projects

North Karanpura

16.0
Tiroda

WRSSS-II

43.8

13.9

Parbati-Koldam

10.0
Mundra

Talcher-II

15.0

9.0
0

10

15

20

Sterlite Technologies Transmission Projects

East-North Interconnection

Independent Power Transmission Project

13

30

40

50

15

WRSSS-II project of RPTL has seen the

commissioning of 5 lines (500 km) entire
project expected to be commissioned in 2012
Five more projects worth Rs 65 billion identified
for competitive bidding

10

JV Project

20

Seven interstate transmission projects awarded

under competitive bidding so far
18

0
5
10
Investment (Rs billion)

10

Investment (Rs billion)

Investment (Rs billion)

System Strengthening of the

Western Region Transmission
System
System Strengthening Common
for Western Region and
Northern Region

20

Powergrid has emerged the lowest bidder

for two of these (Vemagiri and
Nagapattinam Cuddalore)
13

Private Sector Participation

Transmission Projects of other Players
12.0
10.0

10.0

Investment (Rs billion)

8.6

8.0

7.0

6.0

4.5
3.8

4.0

3.2

3.0

Torrent Power

Patel Engg, BS
Transcomm
and Simplex Infra

2.0
0.0
Jaypee

Essar Power

Teesta Urja

JSW Energy

Kalpataru and
Techno Electric

Almost a dozen transmission systems associated with private generation projects being developed
by private players either independently or in JV with the CTU or STUs
Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have implemented PPP in state level
transmission projects involving over 4,300 km of lines at investment of over Rs 25 billion

Three projects in Maharashtra (one is operational) being executed in JV with the STU
Projects in the remaining states have/will be awarded through the bidding route

14

State Transmission Utilities

Line Length of State Transcos
50.0

'000 ct. km

40.0

41.6

38.1

31.8

30.0

29.8

27.2

26.5

25.0

23.1

20.0
10.0

TANTRANSCO

UPPTCL

MP Transco

RVPN

KPTCL

AP Transco

MSETCL

GETCO

0.0

Substation Capacity of State Transcos

100

49.0

41.0

40

38.4

36.3

KPTCL

49.5

RVPN

51.6

60

34.2

20

MP Transco

TANTRANSCO

AP Transco

UPPTCL

GETCO

Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP, AP and TN

account for more than 50% of the total intrastate transformer capacity
Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh have
HVDC transformer capacity
Gujarat, Maharashtra, AP, Karnataka and
Rajasthan account for around half of the total
intra-state line length
While intra-state transformer capacity grew at
a CAGR of 7.3%, line length grew at 4.7%
(2007-08 to 2011-12)

82.6

MSETCL

'000 MVA

80

STUs accounted for 323,641 ct. km of

transmission lines and over 483,234 MVA of
transformer capacity as of March 2012

Mahatransco incurred the highest capital

expenditure at Rs 29.4 billion during 2010-11
followed by RRVPNL at Rs 20 bilion, and
Tantransco and KPTCL at Rs 17 billion

15

Agenda

State of the Sector

Plans and Achievements

Market Structure
Regulations
Technology Trends
Issues and Challenges
Conclusion
16

Key Regulations and their Impact

Point of Connection method for sharing the cost of and losses in the
interstate transmission system (ISTS) implemented from July 1, 2011
New pricing framework sensitive to distance, direction and quantum of
power flow
PoC tariffs based on load flow analysis and capture utilisation of each
network element by the customers

Transmission
Tariff

All designated ISTS customers are default signatories of TSA, ensuring

payment of PoC charge for use of the network
As per amendment introduced in March 2012, there will be 3 slab rates for
injection and demand PoC charges till 2013-14
The implementing agency will aggregate PoC charges for geographically
and electrically contiguous nodes on the ISTS to create zones within the
state boundary and arrive at a uniform zonal rate
Any interstate generating station directly connected to the 400 kV ISTS will
be treated as a separate zone and not clubbed with other generator nodes

Connectivity
and Open
Access

Generation stations granted connectivity to the grid allowed to inject infirm

power into the grid during testing upto 6 months after first synchronisation
The CTU or transmission licensee to take up construction of dedicated
transmission line in phases after ensuring that advance payment for main
plant equipment orders have been made (for 500 MW and above thermal
plants and 250 MW and above hydro plants)
17

Key Regulations and their Impact

The recent amendment has tightening of the operational frequency band
from 50.2 to 49.5 Hz to 50.2 to 49.7 Hz aimed at ensuring better
operational performance of the grid
In the case of forced outages of generating units, the schedule of all
beneficiaries will be reduced on a pro-rata basis

IEGC

For new wind energy plants, all fluctuations within 30% of the schedule will
be borne by all users of the interstate grid
For solar power, there is no such band and all fluctuations for new solar
power plants have to be borne by users of the interstate grid
Allows new wind energy generators to fine tune their schedules, based on
forecasting, as close as three hours before actual generation
High UI charges as deterrent for overdrawl from the grid
UI charges specified in the frequency band of 50.2 to 49.5 Hz

UI Charges
Amendment

A maximum UI charge of Rs 9.0 per unit is applicable at grid

frequencies below 49.7 Hz

Additional UI charges: 49.7-49.5 Hz 20% of the maximum UI charge;

49.5-49.2 Hz 40% of maximum UI charge; below 49.2 Hz 100% of
maximum UI charge

18

Agenda

State of the Sector

Plans and Achievements

Market Structure
Regulations
Technology Trends
Issues and Challenges
Conclusion
19

Technology Trends
Necessitated by the need to increase the MW flow per metre of RoW

Move to higher
voltage levels

First line (Biswanath Chariyali - Agra bi-pole line) at 800 kV HVDC level
expected to be completed by August 2013
Powergrid engaged in developing the 1,200 kV transmission system UHV
AC test station is under development at Bina, Madhya Pradesh

Increasing the thermal capacity of the conductors and use of high

temperature low sag (HTLS) conductors to increase transmission capacity

Conductor
configurations
and materials

High Surge Impedance Loading (HSIL) technology to increase the load of

the lines
Low resistance conductors (AL59 alloy conductors) and dull surface finish
conductors are some of the upcoming kinds of conductors.
Tower design improvements
Compact/pole type towers for to tackle RoW issues

Others

Multicircuit towers
Substation automation
Compact substations - gas insulated switchgear

20

Smart Grid Initiatives in Transmission

Key Initiatives by CTU
Key smart-grid technologies deployed in transmission:

Synchronized Phasor Measurements using Wide Area Monitoring Systems

like PMUs
Self Healing Power Systems
Adaptive Islanding Systems

Remote operations of substation 27 unmanned substations as of today

Setting up of National Transmission Monitoring Centre (NTMC) by 2013
Remote monitoring and operation of 192 Substations
Powergrid has commissioned 8 PMUs in the northern grid under the first WAMS
pilot project
Pilot projects being implemented in other regions: Western Region (25
PMUs), Eastern Region (25 PMUs), Southern Region (6 PMUs), North
Eastern Region (6 PMU)
Power grid plans to cover all 400 kV and above substations by installing
around 1,000 PMUs by 2015

21

Agenda

State of the Sector

Plans and Achievements

Market Structure
Regulations
Technology Trends
Issues and Challenges
Conclusion
22

Issues and

Challenges

Demand
Centres

Generation
Centres

Need for bulk power

transfer over long
distance through strong
national electricity grid
23

Issues and Challenges

Delays in land acquisition, obtaining right of way (ROW), environmental and
related statutory clearances

Procedural
delays

Equipment deployment, use and repair, particularly in hostile terrains

Bidding process takes a long time which adds to the transaction costs of
prospective developers
Coordination with generation projects, so that the transmission system
comes up in tandem with the generation capacity

Lack of
coordination

Transmission networks can be better planned when the allocation of

generation projects is decided in a holistic manner
Merchant capacities and renewable power pose their own challenges
Unlike generation, private participation in transmission has been limited

Limited private
sector
participation

Private sector players have concerns regarding a level playing field

Steps like standard bidding documents, PoC tariffs, payment security
mechanism etc. will provide confidence
Investments in intra-state transmission networks have been inadequate

Inadequate
investments

Due to network constraints, power cannot be fully transported from surplus

to deficit areas, and open access transactions cannot be effectively
facilitated

PoC tariffs if implemented at the state level could make transmission

investments self sustaining

24

Agenda

State of the Sector

Plans and Achievements

Market Structure
Regulations
Technology Trends
Issues and Challenges
Conclusion
25

Summing Up
76,000 MW planned capacity
addition in 12th Plan
Generation and load centres
dispersed
High amount of renewable
power capacity coming up

Open access, power trading,

ABT regime are new sector
challenges
Transmission investments in
increasing system
redundancies and a strong
grid

Synchronisation of all regional

grids to ensure seamless flow
of power
Targeted increase in interregional capacity to 75,000
MW by 2017

Generation
capacity
addition

National grid

Emerging
requirements

Technology
upgradation
Move to higher voltages
including 765 kV, 800
kV HVDC and 1,200 kV
Smart grid projects
GIS substations,
SCADA, ERP
26

Thank You