'Power Grid to invest Rs 5,800 cr on upgradation work in Gujarat'

Company to increase the number of Extra High Voltage substations to 12 from the existing five, says Executive Director

Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) will invest Rs 5,800 crore for upgrading its network in Gujarat over the next three to four years, its Executive Director D K Singh has said.

"Power Grid will invest Rs 5,800 crore in Gujarat to increase the number of Extra High Voltage (EHV) substations to 12 from the existing five. It will also be used for increasing the transmission capacity to 19,000 mega volt ampere (MVA) from the existing 4,000 MVA. The transmission lines shall be expanded to 7,575 kms in Gujarat from the existing 5,610 kms," he said yesterday.

Singh was speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of Chinese company TBEA's Rs 1,000 crore Ultra-High-Voltage (UHV) power transformer plant at Karjan near here on Saturday.

The TBEA plant was inaugurated by Gujarat's Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.

Talking about the country-level projects, Singh said, "Eleven High Capacity Power Transmission Corridors (HCPTCs) have been planned to meet bulk power evacuation requirement of various independent power producers (IPPs), mainly coming up in resource-rich states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh at an estimated cost of Rs 66,000 crore."

Singh expressed confidence that with the formation of 'One Nation-One Grid' system, the Indian power sector is going to flourish as several opportunities are waiting ahead.

However, conserving Right-of-Way (RoW), minimising impact on natural resources, coordinated development of cost effective transmission corridor, flexibility in upgradation of transfer capacity of lines matching with power transfer requirement are major areas of concern in development of transmission network in the country, he added.