The Pugalur-Madakkathara high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power corridor, designed to enhance the State’s power import capabilities, will be completed in November, the State government said on Saturday.
The line, once commissioned, will enable Kerala to import 2,000 MW from Raigarh in Chattisgarh via Pugalur in Tamil Nadu. The line has multiple benefits, according to the government and the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB): For one, it will help to meet the ever-increasing power requirements of the State and cut down transmission loss.
Both domestic and commercial consumers stand to benefit from the new transmission system. It will also “facilitate uninterrupted power supply to industrial ventures being set up as part of the Kochi-Bengaluru industrial corridor”, the government said in a statement on Saturday, adding that the construction had entered the final phase.
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Work on the project began in May, 2018. The 165-km line has been drawn from Pugalur to Madakkathara (Thrissur) at a cost of ₹1,474 crore. The project involves 138 km of overhead cable and 27 km of underground cable - from Wadakkanchery to Madakkathara. The 320 kV, 2,000 MW HVDC line was in fact added as a continuation of the 800 kV, 6,000 MW 1,765-km Raigarh-Pugalur DC line project on the request of Kerala.
National transmission utility Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) undertook the Raigarh-Pugalur-Madakkathara project as part of efforts to reduce the power deficit in the southern region. The Pugalur-Madakkathara HVDC system is special in that it is the first transmission network in India to be built on the Voltage Source Converter-based HVDC system, which can minimise transmission loss.
The KSEB had assigned a special task force for completing the project on time. The State government had also announced a special package for land acquisition to avoid delays.
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