57 Inter Regional Power Transmission projects worth Rs 7,268 crore sanctioned under PSDF scheme

Fifty-seven inter regional power transmission projects worth Rs 7,268 crore have been sanctioned under the Power System Development Fund (PSDF) scheme. The total inter regional transmission capacity, according to the Ministry of Power, stands at 63,650 MW. Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines, Piyush Goyal, in a written reply in Lok Sabha, has informed that Inter Regional Transmission Corridors (IRTC) are planned and implemented for transfer of power from surplus states and regions to deficit states and regions on short-term basis, subject to availability of margins in these lines. These lines, a part of the evacuation system from interstate generation stations, are mainly used for delivery of power from these generating stations to their beneficiaries in various states. Further, according to the minister, a number of inter-regional links have been planned, which interconnect the five regional grids ie northern, western, southern, eastern and north-eastern regions. Presently, the total transmission capacity of such interregionallinks is 63,650 MW (as on January 2017). According to the ministry, as of now, 57 projects have been sanctioned under the Power System Development Fund (PSDF) scheme, at Rs 7,268 crore. PSDF can be utilised, inter alia, for creating necessary transmission systems of strategic importance based on operational feedback by Load Dispatch Centres for relieving congestion in Inter-State Transmission Systems (ISTS) and intra-state system, which are incidental to the ISTS. This fund can also be utilised for renovation and modernisation of transmission and distribution systems for relieving congestion.