Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) is planning to build energy highways across the country to meet a projected growth in demand and ease the load on the national grid.
The highways include 11 high-capacity corridors, each with a capacity of about 4,000 Mw, and three high-capacity HVDC (high-voltage, direct current) systems (6,000 Mw each). The central transmission utility will also develop eight inter-state transmission systems (ISTS) or green energy corridors to help the renewable energy sector. The ones to come up first would be to connect the solar power parks in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. PGCIL is constructing the first phase of green corridors connecting renewable-rich states.
Shri I S Jha, chairman and managing director of PGCIL, said, “Transmission planning now is on basis of load growth and not just power generation. The government of India has projected per capita power consumption to grow four times to 4,000 Mw by 2030. Along with central programmes, this will give a momentum to household demand. The country’s transmission needs to be prepared for the phenomenal growth of power demand.”
