Power line addition for FY09 way short of target

Work on more than 80% of the targeted addition in the first half of financial year 2008-2009 yet to be completed.

India is likely to miss the target of laying new power transmission lines as work on more than 80 per cent of the targeted addition in the first half of fiscal 2009 is yet to be completed. Delays in commissioning of power projects and forest clearances are cited as the main reasons for this.

Of the target of 7,684 circuit kilometres (ckm), work on only 19 per cent, or 1,436 ckm, was completed till September 2008, according to the latest data provided by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the apex power sector planning body. Circuit kilometre is the product of the number and length of transmission lines.

“The slippage has occurred due to synchronising of line availability to power generation. This avoids a mismatch between generation and transmission,” said Power Secretary Anil Razdan. “In case a generation project is off-schedule, we adjust the investment in transmission lines so that the transmission investment does not remain idle,” he added.

India is planning to add about 16,400 ckm lines in the current year (2008-2009) to avoid any generation capacity remaining idle due to transmission constraints. “There might be some delays in laying transmission lines, but there is no case of generation capacity lying idle (due to non-availability of transmission lines),” Razdan said.

The data show that out of the targeted 7,684 ckm length for which transmission lines were to be laid in the period, work has begun on 5,894 ckm, about 75 per cent. Out of this, work on 4,458 ckm has been partially completed.

In two categories, 500 kilo volt (kv) and 765 kv, not even a single ckm line has been completed. The work, though, has started. In the 500-kv category, out of the 430 ckm targeted in the six months, work has begun on only 20 ckm.

India’s transmission system is divided into four categories — 765 kv, +/- 500 kv High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC), 400 kv and 220 kv. The problem is acute because the greatest lag has occurred in higher load lines, 500 kv and 765 kv. While a 765-kv line can carry about 2,000 Mw load, a 400 kv line can support about 500 Mw.

Another reason is the delay by contractors in obtaining forest clearances. “It (forest clearances) becomes a serious problem in cases where the lines are running through forest areas,” said a senior CEA official.

Industry experts say delays in power generation projects also lead to a held-up of transmission lines. “The transmission sector is not at fault. Actually the lines are not in sync with generation projects. If a project does not pick up, there is no point leaving the lines unutilised. This is why transmission targets require frequent reworking,” said a senior analyst from an accounting and consultancy firm.