PLI for transmission equipment manufacturing can be explored: Power secy

Various options, including PLI for transmission equipment manufacturing, can be explored to boost the power transmission infrastructure of the country, Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal said on Monday.

Agarwal said he has requested the industry stakeholders to think about ways to localize the supply chain for transmission equipment.

He was replying to a question on PLI scheme for transmission equipment, on the sidelines of 'Brainstorming Conclave on Indian Power Sector Scenario by 2047' organised by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in partnership with Ficci.

"I requested the participants to also think how can we localize the supply chain for transmission equipment as global supply chains are under strain...and do we need some PLI kind of scheme for some kind of equipment....I have requested to explore that whether that can help or some of other driver would be required," the official said.

Agarwal also said that about 1650 GW of renewable capacity worldwide is waiting to get connected and this shows there are constraints in development of transmission capacities.

In India, there is sufficient capacity for certain transmission equipment. However, for some like HVDC and HVAC, the capacity needs to be augmented, he added.

The high-voltage direct current or HVDC and high-voltage alternating current or HVAC systems are designed for transportation of power over longer distances.

The government had earlier launched a plan for building a transmission system for evacuating 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil based energy by 2030.