WCA January 2013

India

Single frequency across India by 2014 Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) plans to maintain a single frequency across the country by early 2014. Chairman and MD, R N Nayak was quoted by The Hindu Business Line as saying that the southern grid is not interlinked with the national grid and requires manual management. “With commissioning of Raichur to Solapur transmission line by January 2014, we will have a totally synchronous grid across the country,” Nayak said. “This will enable the entire country to have one frequency and the power transmission will be seamless between various regions including the south.” Union power minister, Veerappa Moily laid the foundation stone for the project in Raichur, Karnataka on 12 th October 2012. Speaking during the foundation-laying ceremony, Nayak noted that within 15 months the nation will have one frequency. The commissioning of the transmission line and 765kV substation in Raichur will enable better management of power supplies between regions across India. The Raichur-Solapur power line, which is being set up with an investment of $365.5m, is expected to be ready by December 2013 for synchronisation with the national grid by January 2014. Power Grid Corporation of India – India Website : www.powergridindia.com 700MW hydro project Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company Reliance Power has secured clearance from the Central Electricity Authority for its 700MW Tato II hydro project in India. The project will be built on River Siyom in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, and will entail an investment of $1.1billion, reported the Hindu Business Line. Employing four units of 175MW each, the project is expected to generate about 3,000MWh of energy per year with an annual load of about 50 per cent. The electricity produced at the project, to be developed by Reliance Power subsidiary Tato Hydro Power, will be sold to BSES Rajdhani Power and BSES Yamuna Power under a power purchase agreement to be supplied to the Delhi region. Reliance Power is currently developing a cumulative 4,620MW of hydroelectric power capacities at seven locations in the country, which are expected to be completed over the next decade.

Tata’s exit from wire harness business Tata AutoComp has announced its exit from a joint venture wiring harness business. Tata Yazaki Autocomp Ltd was set up by Tata and Yazaki Corporation of Japan in 1998 to manufacture wiring harnesses for the automobile sector. The company has plants in Pune, Sanand, Pantnagar, Jamshedpur and Bangalore. On 17 th November the company announced that its partner Yazaki Corporation will be acquiring its 50 per cent stake in Tata Yazaki. The final transfer will take place after completion of all the formalities in a couple of months. According to a report by rating agency CRISIL last year, Tata Yazaki is the second-largest manufacturer of wire harnesses in India, with a share close to 16 per cent in the domestic market. Tata Motors contributes to around 46 per cent of Tata Yazaki’s revenues, with Toyota Kirloskar, Volkswagen, Fiat India and Honda Siel Cars Ltd together contributing about 50 per cent. India, with its high power demand in one side and Nepal in the other end with high power potential, have come closer with the recently agreed planning for a new major trans-border 400 KVA power transmission line that can handle 1,200MW power. The other upcoming major Indo-Nepal power transmission line is expected to be operational by 2015 between Dhalkebar in Nepal and Muzaffarpur in India. According to Mr Koirala, secretary, Energy Department of Nepal, a new cross border transmission line will be set up from west Nepal to India. After having the issue discussed with the Indian authority through Nepal’s External Affairs Ministry, both countries have come to a final agreement on the matter in a recently concluded meeting of Energy Group under the South Asian Sub-Regional Cooperation. As per the feasibility study, the new transmission line is going to be 125km long between Butwal in West Nepal and Gorakhpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. As estimated the line needs a financial support of around INR 300 Crore. More than five big hydropower projects with a collective capacity of around 20,000 MW are under feasibility study in West Nepal at present. Nepal cannot consume the output of those. On the other side, export of the surplus power generated out of these projects with renewable source of the country to India, can get the financially crunched Nepal into a more comfortable situation. Tata Yazaki Autocomp Ltd – India Website : www.tacogroup.com Trans-border power transmission line

Reliance Power – India Website : www.reliancepower.co.in

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2013