Inter-State Transmission System GEC Phase-II for 13 GW RE project in Ladakh:

LADAKH October 20: The transmission line for evacuating this power will pass through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab up to Kaithal in Haryana, where it will be integrated with the National Grid. An interconnection is also planned from this project in Leh to existing Ladakh grid so as to ensure reliable power supply to the Ladakh. It will also be connected to the Leh-Alusteng-Srinagar line to provide power to J&K.

Keeping in view the complex terrain and defence sensitivities, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) has been nominated as the Implementing Agency for this project.The total estimated cost of Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) Green Energy Corridor (GEC) Phase-II is ₹20,773.70 crore[excluding Interest During Construction (IDC)]. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) and the cost estimates have been prepared by POWERGRID. The project will entail setting up of 713 km [or 1268 circuit kilometres (ckm)] of transmission lines and 2×5000 MW capacity of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) terminals – one each at Pang (Ladakh) and Kaithal (Haryana).

The project will pass through difficult mountainous terrain of high altitude and extreme climatic conditions viz. temperature going as low as minus 45oC, heavy snow (maximum standing snow of approx. 5-6 metres), etc. In order to counter the sub-zero temperature of the region, a special kind of steel will have to be used in towers and its associated accessories. The transmission system would also be passing through avalanche zones and, thus, state-of-the art technology would be used to establish a first of its kind system in the world in such topography.

The 13 GW RE capacity will be combination of 9 GW Solar and 4 GW Wind. This capacity is proposed to be combined with 12 GWh of Battery Energy Storage Systems(BESS),which will result in round the clock supply of power to the tune of 33,630 million Units per annum. The proposed transmission is of 5 GW capacity, which will be sufficient to transmit the above power and it has been designed in such a way that capacity utilization of the line will be 76% upon integration of BESS on generation side.

POWERGRID will complete its FEED study by December, 2024 and will thereafter award the contract by March 2025. The project will be completed in 5 years from award of work. Accordingly, the project timeline is proposed as 7 years, i.e. from FY 2023-24 to FY 2029-30.

Financial Implication:

The project is targeted to be set up by FY 2029-30 with total estimated cost of Rs.20,773.70 crore and Central Financial Assistance (CFA) @ 40 percent of the project cost i.e. Rs.8,309.48 crore.

With the 40% grant support, the levelized transmission tariff will come down from ₹0.88 per unit to ₹0.55 per unit of power.