The Indian power sector is growing with exponential electricity demand and the impetus of the government towards faster capacity addition. The growth of the Indian transmission sector is impressive but the current installed transmission capacity is nowhere close to the total installed generation capacity. The government has put forth an ambitious project on targeted capacity addition of 1,00,000 mw and 75,000 mw of inter-regional power transfer capacity by 2017. There is a need to have similar corresponding investments in the transmission sector. Over the past few years, the pace of investment in this segment has increased after the realization that strengthening both the state and central transmission networks is vital for the power sector.

The Indian transmission sector has mostly relied on 400KV lines and with the power generation capacity addition planned, there was a need to add huge network of UHV transmission line with better cost and transmission efficiencies, apart from lower environmental impact. Due to right of way (ROW) issues, which is becoming a major concern on construction of transmission Lines, it was important to move the transmission capacities on High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) as against HVAC system, as it offers better economics, halved right-of-way requirements, lower transmission losses and better stability. As is evident from statistics released by Central Electricity Authority, around 34,000 ckm of HVDC lines are planned for in the XII Plan period as against 18,000 ckm envisaged in the XI Plan.

One major advantage of HVDC is its low cost for transmission of very high power over very long distances and is suitable for interconnecting two AC networks in asynchronous manner. Second great advantage is that the losses are quite low. The total losses in the transmission of power over 2,000 km are in the order of five percent. The third major advantage is that fewer lines are needed with less right of way requirement. For example, a transmission of 6,000 mw can be achieved with just one line using 800kV HVDC whereas transmitting the same power with 800kV HVAC would require two double circuit lines.

Modern HVDC systems are equipped with developed technologies and equipment combined with the experience of the old installations. An HVDC system offers more value addition than an AC transmission with advantages such as enhanced transmission distance in over head & underground transfer and stable & efficient power transmission while carrying more than double the power. Right of way can also be suitably challenged with HVDC needing much smaller space and hence lowering the environmental impact.

In addition to moving strongly on HVDC, it is a welcome step that India is in the process of developing 1,200kV AC transmission lines. The challenge before the central transmission utility is to build a strong hybrid backbone of UHV lines that will allow for large transfers from one part of the country to the other and integrate the larger capacities that are going to come up both in the public and private sectors. For successfully implementing the capacities planned during the XI and XII Plan periods, the government should facilitate and address some key challenges.

The ratio of investment, which ideally should have been 2:1:1 amongst the three broad segments of generation, transmission and distribution, needs to be realized. Lack of an integrated approach on transmission planning will also hamper the development of the sector.

Some of the factors which need to be considered in transmission planning would be to clear the backlog of inadequacies and add a certain degree of redundancies and cushions to take care of eventualities and to promote power trading. Open Access in transmission will help creating a strong transmission system. Open Access in distribution, where consumer will have option to source power from wherever it wants to, is economical.

While some progress has been made at reducing the transmission and distribution (T&D) losses, these still remain substantially higher than the global benchmarks, at approximately 33 per cent. Curbing T&D losses will require deployment of smart grid solutions. The future requires a very "smart" grid and it is the onus of state and Central transmission utilities to necessitate the creation of Smart Grid. Leveraging concepts from the developed countries, emerging economies such as India can leapfrog directly to smart electricity infrastructure.

The competitive bidding route that is being followed for private players to bid for transmission lines has received enthusiastic response from the private players. The current investment of private players in power transmission is limited but with the success stories of private power transmission projects ranging from transnational transmission projects to large inter-regional schemes, percolating even to inter-state power transmission lines can evolve the role of the private sector participation in the transmission sector. The private sector, thus, has a crucial role to play in the transmission sector. The efficiencies that the private sector brings in are vital for the transmission segment as the ultimate beneficiary will be the consumer. It will always be desirable to have more and more players in the market, and reap the same benefits that consumers have enjoyed after private sector entered the telecommunication sector.

(Anil Sikka is CEO - Power, BS TransComm Ltd)