Power Grid to commission Rs12K-cr Assam-Agra line by month-end

Public sector Power Grid today said the Rs 12,000-crore transmission line between Assam and Agra having 6,000-MW capacity will be commissioned by month-end.
"The 1,730-km-long 800 kv HVDC (high voltage direct current) transmission line would start commissioning by either August 30 or August 31," a PGCIL official told reporters here.
The total cost involved to erect transmission line from Bishwanath Chariali in Assam to Agra is around Rs 12,000 crore. This will help in transmission of 6,000 MW of electricity, he said.
"Any transmission system planned to interconnect North Eastern region with rest of the Indian grid shall have to be of high capacity as it has to pass through the Chicken neck area in Siliguri district of West Bengal in Eastern region having an acute constraints in the availability of right of way," the official said.

"Accordingly, the high capacity 800 kv, 6,000 MW HVDC (high voltage direct current) bipole line is being implemented from Bishwanath Chariali (3,000 MW HVDC Station) in Assam to Agra (6,000 MW HVDC Station) in UP via Alipurduar....In West Bengal," he said.
A consortium of BHEL and ABB was given the order for the supply of equipment for the transmission line.

The planning of the project was started in 2006-07 and its execution took place in 2012, the official said.
The high capacity HDVC corridor shall integrate the North-Eastern region with other regions of the country to facilitate smooth and reliable power transfer giving rise to stable national grid, he said.

The very nature of control power flow of the HVDC interconnection provides additional flexibility in Grid operation thereby improving various grid parameters, he said.
The link will act as a highway from North-Eastern region to rest of the country and will play a significant role in the hydro potential in the (North-Eastern) parts as well as lead to socio-economic development of India as a whole and the region in particular, he added.