Grid integration will give another 1,500 Mw to South

South witnessed peak power deficit of 6.8% in November last year, the highest among the regions

Power-starved South is set to get some succour with the region expected to gain access to additional electricity flow of about 1,500 Mw once the all India national power grid becomes fully operational.

In a major step, the Southern power grid was synchronised with the rest of the national grid on December 31, 2013, and it is expected to be fully-operational in a few months.

A government official said that once the new grid is fully operational, it would be able to carry an additional of about 1,500 Mw electricity to the Southern region.

In the absence of grid connectivity, the Southern region was unable to utilise excess power available in other regions. The south witnessed peak power deficit of 6.8 per cent in November last year, the highest amongst the regions, according to the latest official data.

Peak power deficit refers to the shortage of electricity when demand is at the maximum. During November last, while the Southern region’s electricity demand touched 34,118 Mw, the availability was only around 31,786 Mw.

Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Lakshwadeep make up the Southern region as per power sector’s planning body Central Electricity Authority (CEA).

The country’s power system is operating through five regional grids. Till December 31, the Northern, Eastern, Western and North-eastern regions’ grids were connected synchronously while southern grid was connected through HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) links.

“Synchronous integration of southern grid with rest of the national power grid shall not only augment the inter-regional power transfer capacity of southern region but also relieve the congestion being experienced in few transmission corridors,” the Power Ministry had said on January 1.

“This will be a great boost for further economic growth of the country. It is likely to take a few months before power flow over this line is stabilised,” it had said.

Out of the country’s total installed generation capacity of 232,164 Mw, the Southern region accounted for 57,529 Mw at the end of November, 2013.