The
1,400-crore interstate
Vemagiri power transmission
project being developed
through the tariff-based competitive
bidding route has received
enthusiastic response from
developers. REC Transmission
Projects Company Ltd, a whollyowned
subsidiary of Rural
Electrification Corporation Ltd, is
acting as the bid process coordinator
for selecting the transmission service
provider to establish and run the
765kV transmission system, under
the BOOM model.
Speaking to Electrical Monitor, V.K.
Singh, Additional CEO, RTPCL, said
that 28 parties submitted their RfQ
documents up to June 14, 2011, the
scheduled closing date. REC expects
shortlisting of bidders to be completed
by end of July. "We will move to the
RfP stage in August," Singh noted,
adding that this would be the fourth
ultra mega power transmission
project that REC is handling as the bid
process coordinator. For the Vemagiri
project in Andhra Pradesh, the
transmission service provider (TSP)
will be a shell company called
Vemagiri Transmission System Ltd
whose ownership will be transferred
to the selected developer.
The project: The proposed Vemagiri
transmission system aims at creating
power evacuation infrastructure
associated with a series of gas-fired
power plants coming up in the area. The
project (referred to as "Vemagiri Area -
Package A") involves setting up of one
765kV line from the Vemagiri pooling
station to Khammam, and another
765kV line from Khammam to
Hyderabad. The lines will be initially
charged at 400kV.
Ultra-mega power transmission projects awarded |
| Month |
SPV |
Agency |
kV |
` crore |
km |
Developer |
| May 2010 |
North Karanpura Transmission Co Ltd |
REC |
400 |
2,700 |
1,045 |
Reliance Power Transmission |
| April 2010 |
Talcher-II Transmission Co Ltd |
REC |
400 |
1,400 |
592 |
Reliance Power Transmission |
| January 2011 |
Raichur Sholapur Transmission Co Ltd |
REC |
765 |
300 |
210 |
Patel+Simplex+BS Transcomm* |
| October 2009 |
East North Interconnection Co Ltd |
PFC |
400 |
800 |
450 |
Sterlite Technologies |
| February 2011 |
Bhopal Dhule Transmission Co Ltd |
PFC |
765 |
900 |
1,000 |
Sterlite Technologies |
| January 2011 |
Jabalpur Transmission Co Ltd |
PFC |
765 |
1,300 |
635 |
Sterlite Technologies |
| *Patel Engineering, Simplex Infrastructures, BS Transcomm |
Currently, four independent
power producer (IPP) projects
aggregating 5,400 mw of capacity
are coming up in the Vemagiri area,
all to be fed through gas from the
Krishna-Godavari basin. Long term
agreements for gas supply have
already been entered for 5,100 mw of
capacity. The Vemagiri (Package A)
project will facilitate the transfer of
power to the southern region.
It may be mentioned that REC will
also be the nodal agency for two
more associated packages (B and C)
that will be developed using the
same tariff-based bidding route.
Package B, identical to Package A,
will involve setting up of the second
765kV line from the Vemagiri
pooling station to Khammam, and
the second 765kV line from
Khammam to Hyderabad. Package B
will thus supplement the objective
of Package A in moving power from
Vemagiri to the southern region.
Under Package C, one 765kV line
will developed from Hyderabad to
Wardha (Maharashtra) going up to the
Jabalpur pooling station in Madhya
Pradesh. This will help power
evacuation from the Vemagiri pooling
station to the western region of India.
It is estimated that 1,230 mw of power
will be transmitted from the Vemagiri
area to the western region.
It is also learnt that 450 mw of power
from Vemagiri will be fed to the
northern region. This transfer would be
achieved by Vemagiri Package C
working in conjunction with a 765kV
line that Power Grid Corporation of
India is building from Jabalpur pooling
station in Madhya Pradesh to Orai and
Bulandshahr (both in Uttar Pradesh.)
Nodal agency: In its capacity as
nodal agency, REC has so far handed
over three independent power
transmission projects to private
developers. Power Finance
Corporation, the other nodal agency
in this endeavour, has awarded an
equal number (see table.) Reliance
Power Transmission (Anil Ambani
Group), Sterlite Technologies and BS
Transcomm are amongst those
winning projects so far.