Lok Sabha Question No. 656 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-11-28
Subject: Power Transmission Capacity
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Shri K Radhakrishnan, Dr. Amar Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.656

## ANSWERED ON 28.11.2024

## POWER TRANSMISSION CAPACITY

656.   SHRI K RADHAKRISHNAN: DR. AMAR SINGH:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of power transmission capacity in the country during the last ten years, year-wise;
- (b) whether  the  Government  have  identified  any  key  interim  milestones  to achieve  the  targeted  35%  increase  in  power  transmission  capacity  by  the Financial Year 2032 and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the  details  of  the  strategies  being  implemented  to  integrate  renewable energy sources within the expanded transmission network, with a view to ensure grid stability and operational efficiency; and
- (d) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to overcome the challenges  such  as  land  acquisition,  environmental  clearances,  and  other potential  bottlenecks  affecting  the  timely  completion  of  these  transmission projects?

## A N S W E R

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER

(SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

(a) : As on 31 st  March 2014, Transmission System (of 220 kV & above voltage level)  consists  of  2,91,336  circuit  kilometers  (ckm)  of  Transmission  Lines  and 5,30,546 Mega Volt Ampere (MVA) of Transformation Capacity and Inter-Regional capacity of 35,950 Mega Watts (MW) in the country.

........2.

The  year  wise  addition  in  transmission  lines  (of  220  kV  &  above)  and transformation capacity (of 220 kV & above) and inter-regional capacity in the last 10 year is as below:

| FY                                 |   Transmission Lines (in ckm) |   Transformation Capacity (in MVA) | Inter-Regional capacity (in MW)   |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------|------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| 2014-15                            |                         22101 |                              65554 | 7900                              |
| 2015-16                            |                         28114 |                              62849 | 15200                             |
| 2016-17                            |                         26300 |                              81816 | 16000                             |
| 2017-18                            |                         23119 |                              86193 | 11400                             |
| 2018-19                            |                         22437 |                              72705 | 12600                             |
| 2019-20                            |                         11664 |                              68230 | 3000                              |
| 2020-21                            |                         16750 |                              57575 | 3000                              |
| 2021-22                            |                         14895 |                              78982 | 7200                              |
| 2022-23                            |                         14625 |                              75902 | 0                                 |
| 2023-24                            |                         14203 |                              70728 | 6,490                             |
| 2024-25 (Up to 31 st October-2024) |                          4762 |                              33265 | 0                                 |

As on 31 st  October 2024, Transmission System (of 220 kV & above voltage level)  consists  of  4,90,306  ckm  of  Transmission  Lines  and  12,84,345  MVA  of Transformation Capacity, and Inter-Regional capacity of 1,18,740 MW.

- (b) :   The National Electricity Plan (Transmission) has been launched in October, 2024. As per the Plan, 1,91,474 ckm of transmission lines and 1,274 Giga Volt Ampere (GVA) of transformation capacity would be added (at 220 kV and above voltage  level)  during  the  ten-  year  period  from  2022-23  to  2031-32.  The  interregional  transmission  capacity  is  planned  to  increase  to  168  GW  by  the  year 2031-32.

The key interim milestone of Transmission lines, Transformation Capacity (220  kV  &  above  voltage  level)  and  Inter-Regional  capacity  would  be  5,71,403 ckm, 1,847GVA and 143 GW respectively by 2026-27.

- (c) :   The  strategies  being  implemented  to  integrate  Renewable  Energy  (RE) sources within the expanded transmission network, with a view to ensure grid stability and operational efficiency inter alia includes following:
- i. Innovative products like Solar-Wind Hybrid Projects, RE projects with energy storage systems and supply of RE power balanced with power from non-RE sources launched to reduce intermittency.

........3.

- ii. Flexibility in generation and Scheduling of Thermal/Hydro Power Stations through bundling with Renewable Energy and Storage Power.
- iii. Implementation of Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) and Green Day Ahead Market (GDAM) for sale of renewable energy.
- iv. Inter  State  Transmission  System  (ISTS)  charges  have  been  waived  for inter-state  sale  of  solar  and  wind  power  projects  till  June  2025,  and  for offshore wind projects till December 2032
- v. Central Electricity Authority  (Technical Standards for Connectivity to the Grid) Regulations lay down the minimum technical requirements for the RE generating plants to ensure safe, secure and reliable operation of the grid.
- vi. Laying  of  new  transmission  lines  and  creating  new  sub-station  capacity has  also  been  funded  under  the  Green  Energy  Corridor  Scheme  for evacuation of renewable power.
- vii. Regional Energy Management Centers (REMC) have been set up for better forecasting  of  renewable  power  and  to  assist  grid  operators  to  manage variability and intermittency of renewable power.
- viii. Resource Adequacy Guidelines has been issued by the Ministry of Power to ensure long-term capacity planning and grid reliability.

(d) : The issues pertaining to Right of Way (RoW) and forest/wild life clearances are  taken  up  with  concerned  Authorities  for  early  resolution.  All  transmission projects  under  implementation  are  reviewed  monthly  by  Central  Electricity Authority  and  accordingly  the  State  authorities  concerned  are  requested  for support. Further, the issues are also addressed in multi-tier monitoring mechanism  like  Project  Monitoring  Group  (PMG)  Portal/  e-Samiksha  Portal/ PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation) Portal.

Ministry  of  Power  (MoP)  has  issued  revised  guidelines  for  payment  of compensation  in  regard  to  Right  of  way  (RoW)  for  transmission  lines  on 14.06.2024. As per these guidelines, land rate has been linked to market rate. Further,  compensation  amount  for  the  tower  base  area  and  RoW  corridor  has been increased to 200% and 30% respectively, of the land value.

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