South and north power grids linked

The southern region’s power grid was connected to the rest of the country’s transmission network on Wednesday after state-owned transmission company Power Grid Corp commissioned a power line between Solapur in Maharashtra and Raichur in Karnataka, the power ministry has said.

The inter-connection would enable inter-regional flow of power, helping cut the electricity deficit in the south and ease power prices in the spot market. The new power link, a single-circuit 765-Kilo Volt line, has been constructed at a cost of Rs 815 crore.

“Synchronous interconnection of the southern region with the North-East-West grid was envisaged through the high capacity 765 KV Raichur – Sholapur lines, a step towards the establishment of a pan-India national grid facilitating bulk transfer of power across regional boundaries,” the power ministry said in a statement.

Synchrony of power transmission lines refers to their ability to withstand sudden and large variations in power flow that cause tripping and blackouts.

The Indian national grid now is a complex mesh of inter-regional transmission lines running criss-cross between the northern, eastern, western, north-eastern and southern grids. The network has a capacity to transfer 2,32,000 Megawatt of power.