Sterlite Power commissions Purulia-Kharagpur project

Sterlite Power on Friday announced commissioning of Purulia-Kharagpur transmission project that will supply 1,200 Mw electricity to Jharkhand and West Bengal.

"Sterlite Power has set another benchmark by commissioning the Purulia-Kharagpur transmission project," the company said in a statement.

The project consists of two 400-kv double circuit lines with a total length of 273 km, including the 112-km Purulia-Ranchi and 161-km Kharagpur-Chaibasa lines.

Sterlite Power will operate and maintain the project — traversing through Jharkhand and West Bengal — for 35 years.

"The Purulia-Kharagpur transmission project is a new milestone in providing uninterrupted power supply to energy-deficient villages in West Bengal and Jharkhand. Adverse working conditions did not deter our team from addressing the toughest challenges faced during project execution," said Sterlite Power COO Ved Mani Tiwari in a statement.

The Purulia-Ranchi line connects Purulia Pumped Storage Power Project (PSPP) in West Bengal and the 765/400-kv sub-station of Power Grid Corporation in Jharkhand. The Kharagpur-Chaibasa line connects sub-stations of PowerGrid and West Bengal utility in Chaibasa and Kharagpur, respectively.

With the commissioning of its fifth project, Sterlite Power is now managing a portfolio of 4,063 circuit km of operational transmission lines and two sub-stations spread across 11 states.

Sterlite Power bagged the Purulia-Kharagpur Transmission Project through a tariff-based competitive bidding under the build, own, operate and maintain model.

The line will contribute to the growing generation capacity in eastern India and strengthen the interconnection between state and regional grids to facilitate exchange of additional power.