Energetica India - June 2020

POWER SECTOR Overhaul India’s Transmission Grid Along with the augmentation of sustainable power generation sources, a well-designed and a futuristic transmis- sion grid is required to drive India’s economic growth and transformation. Uninterrupted supply of power – one of the prerequisites for any advanced economy – is imperative to drive India’s economic transformation and growth. It requires large-scale investments across the board, from sustainable means of power generation to augmenting the en- ergy delivery mechanisms. According to the 19th Electrical Power survey by the Central Electricity Author- ity’s (CEA), India’s electricity requirement (demand plus transmission and distribu- tion losses) to reach 1,566 TWh (peak demand 225.7 GW) by 2021-22 which will further increase to more than 2,047 TWh in 2026-27 (peak demand 298.7 GW). An additional 1.1 lakh circuit km and about 383,000 MVA of transforma- tion capacity in the substations at 220kV and above voltage levels are required by the financial year 2024 to manage the annual peak load demand of 225.7 GW. Need for Overhaul In tandem with the focus on sustainable power generation sources, infrastructure bottlenecks such as inadequate trans- mission and distribution (T&D) networks also need to be resolved on high priority. The need to modernize India’s transmis- sion grid assumes importance given the focus shifting from fossil fuels to renew- able sources of power generation. India, the fourth-largest carbon emitter in the world, has committed to reducing emis- sions by 33–35% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. This would require the coun- try to source 40% of its total energy re- quirement from non-fossil fuel sources. The Prime Minister’s call for ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ underscores the need for a strong transmission system that will support India’s renewable ener- gy growth. Overcoming Obstacles The Indian power grid needs better plan- ning. The T&D and aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses of the country are high resulting in huge losses, both in terms of energy and revenue real- ization. This has badly affected the finan - cial health of DISCOMs in India. The total loss of all power distribution companies stood at Rs27,000 crore in FY 2018-19. Across India, energy requirement (MU), peak demand (MW), and the supply of energy have increased from an aver- age year-on-year growth rate of ~5% in 2015/16 to 6% in2018/19. Transmission capacity has also witnessed a similar growth rate of 6.5% year-on-year over the same period. From 377150 ckt km in 2015-16, transmission line capacity had increased to 456,843 ckt km in 2019-20 (up to December 2019). According to a CII white paper, ‘New Age Power Systems For 21stCentury India – Amogh Nawathe CEO, T&D Business, Sterling and Wilson Pvt Ltd. energetica INDIA- June_2020 49