India-Sri Lanka 285-Km Power Transmission Link By 2013

Dec 29, 2009 - RTT News

The 285-kilometre power transmission link, including submarine cables of 50 km. and to be built between India and Sri Lanka, is likely to be completed by 2013, say reports.

The Rs.2,300-crore power link will enable the two neighbours to trade their surplus power, and to bridge their power-generation deficit as also manage their peak demands. Besides, it will pave the way for future trading of electricity between them.

India's largest electricity transmission company and the implementing agency, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd., (PGCIL), hopes that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for developing the mega project would be signed with the Ceylon Electricity Board, the largest electricity company of Sri Lanka, shortly.

Said PGCIL Chairman and Managing Director S.K. Chaturvedi: "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."

As per the PGCIL feasibility report, the undersea line will initially have a transmission capacity of 500 MW. Later, it could be increased 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 transferring electricity from the 500-MW imported coal-based power project being planned to be set up by India's National Power Thermal Corporation or NTPC, at Trincomalee in Sri Lanka. The island-nation currently has a capacity of 2,500 MW.

Power Grid conducted a feasibility study of the project last year and found the installing of the transmission lines to be viable. The detailed project report would be prepared, Chaturvedi said. The Sri Lankan government approved the power link in July last year.

As per the understanding, Power Grid and the Ceylon Electricity Board will have cables laid under the Gulf of Mannar between Rameswaram 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, Chaturvedi added.

by RTT Staff Writer

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