More power to Mumbai!

The construction of the 80-km Kudus-Aarey high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line, that will bring an additional 1,000MW power from outside to cater to the city's growing electricity demand, will begin in October this year.

The bankers' consortium has cleared a credit plan of Rs 5,700-cr, said Adani Energy Solutions Limited (AESL), which will construct the line. AESL further said Mumbai's electricity demand was expected to touch 5,000 MW by the year 2025 from the current peak demand of 4,000 MW. As of now, the city's transmission network cannot bring in more power from outside.

"The island city has only 1,800 MW of embedded generation capacity and the existing transmission corridors face capacity constraint risks. On October 12, 2020, the entire city witnessed a major power blackout event due to the grid constraints," it said, adding that the transmission link will enhance grid stability by providing an interface with the state and national grids. Maximum length of this line will be underground. The company did not confirm the time needed for completing the project.

"The link shall bulk inject (bring in) an additional 1,000 MW of power, mostly renewable, into the city, thus ensuring uninterrupted power supply in future," stated the company, which was awarded the work after the infamous blackout. According to AESL, the city's suburban power supplier, Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd (AEML) was committed to increasing the share of renewable energy in the overall mix to 60% by 2027.

The HVDC transmission technology is superior to other conventional technologies as it stabilizes power distribution networks where sudden new loads or blackouts in one part of the network may lead to synchronization problems and cascading failures. "Besides, it is the only technology suitable for islands where submarine cables are used for procuring power supply. More importantly, it is the most environmentally friendly option as it transmits more energy per square meter as well as results in lower energy losses," said the company, claiming that it was the only private player with experience of installing HVDC transmission lines in India in record time.

"This link is the need of the hour for the city and will support its growth aspirations. It showcases our commitment to offering Mumbai a brighter and greener future. The project will help accelerate the city's decarbonization and its net zero journey," said Anil Sardana, MD, AESL.

80 km
Length of the Kudus-Aarey high voltage direct current transmission line