Wetter monsoon slows pace of adding new transmission lines

India's addition of new power transmission lines fell by half over a year earlier in the April-October period as a wetter-than-usual monsoon slowed work.

- Rituraj Baruah

The country added 4,762 circuit kilometers (ckm) of transmission lines during the first seven months of the current fiscal, about 47% lower than 7,026 ckm in the year-ago period, according to data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).

About 1,240 ckm have been added by central sector companies, with states adding the most at 2,710 ckm and private companies contributing 812 ckm, the data showed. The capacity added in the first seven months is just about a third of the target of 15,253 ckm for the ongoing fiscal ending March 2025. A strong transmission network with adequate storage capacity is crucial for stabilizing power supply, more so with increasing renewable energy capacity in the country.

Plans to connect the Indian grid with the national transmission networks of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Singapore under the One Sun One World One Grid initiative would also require a strong domestic network.