India-Lanka power link by 2013
THE ROUTE
Powergrid and the Ceylon Electricity Board
will lay down cables under the Gulf of Mannar between
Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu and Talaimannar in Mannar islands
in Sri Lanka.
On the Indian side, the cable will be
connected to the southern grid in Madurai through an
overhead transmission line. On the Sri Lankan side, the
underwater cable will be linked to the country’s power
network at Anuradhapura through an overhead line. |
A 285-km link will enable India and Sri Lanka to trade surplus power.
The two governments’ initiative to set up a high-capacity power
transmission link between India and Sri Lanka is likely to be completed
by 2013.
The 285-kilometre power link, including submarine cables over a
stretch of 50 km, will enable the two countries to trade their surplus
power, thereby offering a cheaper option to bridge their power
generation deficit and also manage their peak demand.
The project
* 285 km power link
*Will pave for electricity trading
* Lanka can reduce use of expensive fuels.
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The transmission link will pave the way for future trading of
electricity between the two countries.
Powergrid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), the country’s largest
electricity transmission company and the implementing agency from the
Indian side, hopes that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for
developing the Rs 2,300-crore project would be signed with the Ceylon
Electricity Board, shortly. “The work on the project should begin by
February-March next year after the MoU is signed. It will take us
two-and-a-half to three years to complete this project,” said, Chairman
and Managing Director of Powergrid S. K. Chaturvedi.
The link will also help Sri Lanka reduce its use of expensive fuels
and import cheaper power from India’s surplus.
For India, the link will help open up a new market for its projected
surplus of power.
India currently faces an over 12 per cent power deficit, with a peak
demand of 109,000 Mw annually.
The Indian Government hopes it can add at least 62,000 Mw of
generation capacity in the current Five-Year Plan period, ending March
2012, with additional capacities being set up by private investors
through captive and merchant power plants. This, along with the power
from ultra mega power projects (UMPPs) has fuelled hopes for tradable
surplus.
The subsea line would initially have a capacity of 500 Mw, according
to Powergrid’s feasibility report. Later, the power flow could be ramped
up to 1,000 Mw by 2016 when the power generation capacities in the two
countries improve, with surplus availability especially in India’s
southern grid.
The proposed undersea transmission link could also be useful for
transfer of electricity from the 500-Mw imported coal-based power
project being planned to be set up by NTPC Ltd, India’s largest power
generator, at Trincomalee Sri Lanka has a capacity of 2,500 Mw.
Powergrid had carried out a feasibility study of the project last
year and had found the installing of the transmission lines to be
feasible.
“We have already received an approval from the Ministry of External
Affairs (MEA).
Now a detailed project report will be prepared,” said Chaturvedi. The
Sri Lankan government had given its approval to the transnational power
link in July last year.
Globally, transnational undersea power transmission lines have been
laid so far only between the UK and France for transmission of 2,000 Mw
of electricity.
In addition, Philippines is also planning to set up similar
transmission links currently to connect its islands through undersea
electricity network.
Business Standard, India
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