PowerGrid will link India, Lanka with undersea line

India will soon join the world league in the business of undersea power transmission. State-run PowerGrid Corporation of India, a central transmission utility (CTU), proposes to lay an undersea line between India and Sri Lanka. The proposed undersea high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line would be for the transfer of 500 mw and would subsequently be upgraded to 1,000 mw.

Power Ministry sources said on Saturday that “the proposed undersea transmission line entails an investment of around Rs 1,500 crore. A pre-feasibility study is being carried out by PowerGrid Corporation for the proposed venture. So far, undersea HVDC transmission lines are in

place between the UK and France to transfer 2,000 MW of power. “ Sources said that PowerGrid Corporation’s plan is in accordance with the bilateral investment arrangement between India and Sri Lanka. The proposed undersea transmission line can be useful for state-run NTPC, which plans to set up a 500 mw imported coal-based power project at Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. PowerGrid Corporation of India already has an installed inter-regional transmission capacity of 18,000 mw and plans to increase this to 37,000 mw by 2012.