Undersea Electricity Line to Link India, Lanka

Apr 22, 2008 - The Times of India

India and Sri Lanka are working on a plan to lay a transmission line under the sea to connect the power distribution networks of the two countries so that electricity can be supplied by one when the other is running short.

An initial report prepared by the Indian state-owned transmission utility PowerGrid has pegged the cost of the project at Rs 2,292 crore and said it could be completed within 42 months of getting investment approvals.

The report projects laying a power cable under the Gulf of Mannar between Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Talaimannar on the left flank of the Mannar islands in Sri Lanka.

On the Indian side, the undersea cable will be connected to the southern grid at Madurai through an overhead transmission line. On the Sri Lanka side, the underwater cable will be linked to that country's network at Anuradhapura through an overhead line.

The undersea link will be laid on the sea bed just as telecom and internet cables run across ocean beds around the world. It will have safeguards on both sides against electrocution in case of damage from ship anchors or sharks. An optic-fibre cable will also run alongside the main power cable to keep an eye on the link and also provide extra telecom capacity between the two countries.

The project, like any transnational energy link, will admittedly be a long-haul affair. But junior power minister Jairam Ramesh is quite gung-ho. The next stage will be to prepare a detailed report and both countries will share the cost.

"The idea is to use electricity as a tool of regional integration. This can be an ideal example. We are already working with Bhutan while Power Trading Corporation and private sector GMR have got projects in Nepal and we are looking at linking up with Bangladesh and Myanmar," Ramesh told TOI.

The report prepared by PowerGrid says the power supply scenario between India and Sri Lanka will allow them to exchange about 500MW of electricity in the short term, or by 2009-10.

Once the two sides settle down with this quantity, the flow of power can be ramped up to 1,000MW, roughly one-third of Delhi's present consumption, in the medium-to-long term of 2011-12 through 2015-16. These are the time frames when the generation capacities in both countries are projected to improve, with surplus in the Indian southern grid.

At present, India is facing a 16% electricity shortage, with a peak demand of 1,07,000MW. The government plans to add 78,500MW capacity by 2012, with more envisaged in the captive and merchant segments by private investors.

Many other proposals such as the Krishnapatnam ultra-mega power project are in the pipeline, which, after taking into account the projected growth in load, suggests that there will be surplus of 6,000MW during peak hours and 12,300MW during lean periods.

In comparison, Sri Lanka has about 1,660MW of peak demand and does not have any appreciable surplus or deficit. Nearly half of the power generated in the country comes from hydro sources, while the remaining power comes from plants burning costly liquid fuels.

Though it has plans to add 3,080MW capacity by 2016, it faces a tough situation. Almost half of the total hydel potential of 2,000MW has been tapped and new projects will be difficult to implement due to social and environmental problems.

The existing hydel projects run low during poor monsoon and in the dry season. This means that if all the planned coal- and gas- fired plants come up, then the country will have a surplus of 1,500MW during off-peak hours. But if only half of them come up, then the country will face a shortage of 500-1,500MW peak shortfall.

It is clear that the planned interconnect between the two countries will provide hydel support to Sri Lanka, while India can seek thermal support from its neighbour in winters.

The difference in festival holidays and resultant drop in demand also provides good opportunity for exchange. The link will help Sri Lanka reduce use of expensive fuels and import cheaper power. For India, the link will open up a new market for its surplus.