Cabinet Approves Intra-State Transmission System – Green Energy Corridor Phase-II

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved the scheme on Green Energy Corridor (GEC) Phase-II for Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS) for addition of approximately 10,750 circuit kilometres (ckm) of transmission lines and approx. 27,500 Mega Volt-Amperes (MVA) transformation capacity of substations. The scheme will facilitate grid integration and power evacuation of approximately 20 GW of Renewable Energy (RE) power projects in seven States namely, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

The scheme is targeted to be set up with total estimated cost of Rs.12,031.33 crore and Central Financial Assistance (CFA) @ 33 percent of the project cost i.e. Rs.3970.34 crore. The transmission systems will be created over a period of five year from Financial Year 2021-22 to 2025-26. The Central Financial Assistance (CFA) will help in offsetting the Intra-State transmission charges and thus keep the power costs down.

The scheme will help in achieving the target of 450 GW installed RE capacity by 2030 by enabling smoother creation and integration of renewable generation assets in the grid.

It will generate large direct & indirect employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled personnel in power and other related sectors.

This scheme is in addition to Green Energy Corridor (GEC)-Phase-I which is already under implementation in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu for grid integration and power evacuation of approx. 24 GW of RE power and is expected to be completed by 2022. The scheme is for addition of 9700 ckm of transmission lines and 22600 MVA capacity of substations having estimated cost of transmission projects of Rs. 10,141.68 crore with Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of Rs. 4056.67 crore.

Upgrading transmission infrastructure is a key challenge for India to meet its renewable energy targets, as delays here can create logjams on fresh renewable capacity too. In addition, the green energy corridors, besides being powered by renewable energy, are also meant to focus on meeting agricultural demand, a hitherto subsidised segment in many states, making a case for lower subsidy burdens for the states thanks to the lower cost of renewable energy. Huge schemes like component A of the PMKUSUM scheme which target 10 GW of power by 2022 are also going to largely depend on these green energy  corridors for progress.