OPTCL to install transmission lines

The state government has already held preliminary discussions with the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL).It will be finalised after obtaining the board approval of the Grid Corporation of Orissa Ltd (Gridco), state energy minister Surya Narayan Patro said.

Said he, " The transmission lines will be owned by OPTCL and we will fix charges on wheeling out power from the state to other parts of the country".

According to Patro, the first high voltage line will be built between Angul and Barnala (in Punjab).It will cover a distance of about 1500 km and involves an investment of Rs 10,000 crore. 

Similarly, a second line will be built between Jharsuguda and Dharmajaynagar in Madhya Pradesh. It will cover a distance of 765 km and will require an investment of Rs 6000 crore. 

He said, the state government has already signed memorandum of understanding (MoUs) with 13 independent power producers (IPPs). Most of these projects are expected to start power generation by 2011-12 and evacuation will be a problem by then. 

Keeping that in view, the government has decided to build two high powered transmission lines, he said.