The Hindu : Karnataka News : Power Grid may take up project in State

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 19, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Power Grid may take up project in State

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, JULY 18. Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) may implement a rural electrification project under the Government of India's Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (APDRP) in Karnataka.

The PGCIL Chairman and Managing Director, R.P. Singh, told presspersons here on Sunday that the subject came up at a meeting with the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh.

"I said I will send a proposal to the Government either by Monday or Tuesday," the corporation chairman said.

The PGCIL is already an "adviser-cum-consultant" for the APDRP scheme. It recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) for rural electrification in the country.

Right now, PGCIL is doing APDRP/REC work in Bihar which is funded by the Centre.

The Karnataka proposal would be on similar lines, Mr Singh said. "We will be involved from `concept to commissioning.' The REC will pay us directly. Once the work is done, the State Government can take over or give us an operation and maintenance (O&M) contract."

The PGCIL plans to enhance the Kolar-Talcher (Orissa) 2,000 MW high voltage direct current (HVDC) line by another 500 MW for Rs. 90 crore.

Mr. Singh said the work requiring "minor modifications" would take 15 months. Once ready, the line could carry up to 3,000 MW.

Other projects

In the next 10 years, the corporation plans to invest Rs. 17,000 crore in the southern region. To strengthen the region's link with the east, it will enhance a HVDC back-to-back line at Gajuwaka by 500 MW by January 2005.

"We are looking at linking the western and southern regions either near Kolhapur or near Goa." Besides, the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), with which Power Grid had an agreement, planned a 2,000 MW plant near Talcher.

"We will put in a HVDC line for it either in Karnataka or near the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border," Mr. Singh said.

By 2007, PGCIL will invest Rs. 490 crore to lay 1,200 circuit km of transmission line and a transformation capacity of 2205 MW in Karnataka.

"In Mysore, we are setting up a fully-automated service station that can be operated from Bangalore. Instead of 100 people (in ordinary stations), this one will have a staff of 12 or 15," he said.

Joint ventures

Joint ventures are PGCIL's way of forming public-private partnerships.

It already has a joint venture with Tata Power to lay a transmission line near the border of Bhutan to Punjab. This is to be commissioned by the end of 2005.

"This project has been funded by institutions such as Asian Development Bank, IDFC, and State Bank of India," he said.

The PGCIL has now floated two more tenders for joint venture projects. "Six-seven companies have responded. But our biggest one is a $ 1 billion project to strengthen the western region system. Tenders will be out in 30 to 45 days and we expect multinationals companies to participate," Mr. Singh said.

Bangalore link

The PGCIL will, in a day or two, link Bangalore with its countrywide telecom network.

Mr. Singh said the corporation had diversified into telecom to use up the spare telecommunication capacity of its unified load despatch communication schemes and "to leverage on our countrywide transmission infrastructure."

The Bangalore link will connect with its networks in Delhi and Mumbai.

"Commercial operations have already begun on existing links such as Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Shimla, Delhi-Jaipur, and Delhi-Lucknow-Mumbai-Ahmedabad. We have already operationalised 13,000 km of a planned 20,000 telecom network costing Rs. 1,000 crore. The remainder will be ready by 2004-05," Mr. Singh said.

After Bangalore, the corporation would link Chennai and Hyderabad in two months.

"By December, we will have a network over 60 cities. As of now all our offices are connected. I can sit in Delhi and review work anywhere," he said.

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