Power Grid has no mechanism to assess grids' utilisation: CAG

Power Grid Corporation has not put in place a mechanism to assess the utilisation of electricity transmission lines which has resulted in pockets of "congestion" and "redundancy", said CAG in a report tabled in the Parliament today.
The apex auditor also said that Power Grid assessed transmission capacity augmentation on the basis of addition of individual lines without taking into account the total power transfer capability of the lines.
State-owned Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) is the country's electricity transmission utility.
"PGCIL has not put in place a mechanism for assessing utilisation of transmission lines with the result that there were pockets of congestion, as well as areas of redundancy," the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said.

The findings are based on a performance audit that assessed the effectiveness of planning and implementation of transmission projects executed by Power Grid during the 2007-12 period. The status of augmentation to transmission network made by Power Grid up to March 2013 was also examined.
This report also comes at a time when congestion in transmission lines has resulted in non-availability of required power in certain parts of the country.

According to CAG, cumulative transmission capacity touched 25,050 MW at the end of 11th Five-Year Plan whereas the cumulative transfer capacity was only 11,530 MW.
Transmission capacity of a corridor is arrived at by adding the ratings of all lines connecting two regions while transfer capability refers to the ability of a corridor to carry electricity.

Often, transfer capability is less than transmission capacity due to system limitations.
Further, CAG observed that the objective of having a national electricity grid "remains to be fully achieved" especially in terms of "congestion scenario and low level of inter regional power transfer capability".
"The process of integration of regional grids was progressively taken up from 1990s and with the synchronisation of Southern Grid with rest of the grid on December 31, 2013, the entire Indian power transmission is now being operated at the same frequency and load generation balance is achieved at a national level, completing the technical process of formation of National Grid," the report noted.