State-owned,
Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) has commissioned Monopole-I of the ± 320 kV, 2000 Mega-Watt (MW), Pugalur (Tamil Nadu) – Thrissur (Kerala) Voltage Source Convertor (VSC) based High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) System. This Project strengthens the power system of the Southern Region of our Country.
It may be recalled that Monopole-II of the project was inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on 19th February 2021 and with the commissioning of Monopole-I, the project has attained its full capacity.
The Power Ministry in a statement on Wednesday said that the Pugalur-Thrissur HVDC system, costing Rs5070cr, is a part of the Raigarh-Pugalur-Thrissur 6000 MW HVDC system and enables the transfer of 2000 MW to Kerala through the VSC HVDC station at Thrissur.
The ministry highlighted that the state-of-the-art VSC Technology has been brought to India for the first time by POWERGRID through this Project. The VSC technology significantly reduces the land requirement compared to the conventional HVDC systems and is particularly suitable for areas, where land is scarce. It also facilitates the development of a smart grid and improves system resilience under various operating conditions. A unique feature of this project is the combination of overhead line and underground cable to address the restricted availability of transmission corridor in Kerala.
Further, the ministry said major HVDC equipment like interface transformers and IGBT-based power convertors, AC equipment such as Gas Insulated Sub-station, switchgear, controls and relay panels have been supplied by factories in India, thereby giving a major boost to the Prime Minister’s Make in India program. A significant part of the design, engineering, testing and commissioning for this VSC project has been done in India, aligned to the Prime Minister’s vision of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”.
On Sensex, Power Grid finished at Rs243 per piece up by 3.85%. The stock has clocked a new 52-week high of Rs245.50 per piece during trading hours today.