India is making efforts on a setting up a unified power grid connectivity across South Asia, said Ajay Tewari, additional secretary, ministry of power. He was speaking at the CII South Asia (BBIN) Power Summit on 16th December 2022.
Key highlights
- India envisions expansion of grid connectivity to South East Asian countries. India today has a very robust power grid running from north to south and east to west of the country.
- In future India would like to see the grid connected to neighbouring countries including Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and then expand that connection to Southeast Asian Countries, to emerge as a unified market.
- It will mean sharing of countries’ resources, investments, keeping the goals of energy security and affordability in mind.
- India is already working on that vision at a government-to-government level, as well as at a technocratic level to strengthen the grid interconnections between India and Nepal as well as India and Bhutan.
- There is a proposal on the same lines from India to Bangladesh, which has received encouraging and positive feedback.
- The ‘One Sun, One Word, One Grid’ initiative, state-run Power Grid Corporation of India has drawn up several plans.
- The vision is to finally have an interconnected grid with Gulf Countries, and via Gulf countries to Africa and up north with Europe.
- The plans are also being drawn to connect grids from India to Myanmar, Myanmar to Thailand, Thailand to Singapore.
- India is a large producer and consumer of energy. In the last ten years, India has had interconnection with Bangladesh, strong connectivity with Nepal and import of power from Bhutan.
- Besides hydropower, solar power will also be an important source of energy in these associations and India will soon strive to bring Maldives, Sri Lanka onboard as well.
Key initiative
- India has signed Memorandum of Understanding with Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar to inter-alia improve power connectivity with these neighbouring countries.
- India is providing about 3 MW of power from Moreh in Manipur (India) to Tamu town in Myanmar through 11 kV transmission line.
- A high capacity interconnection between India and Bangladesh exists through Baharampur (India) – Bheramara (Bangladesh). Another interconnection exits between Surajmaninagar (Tripura) in India to Comilla in Bangladesh.
- India and Bhutan already are connected through various lines, mainly for import of about 2000 MW power from Tala HEP, Chukha HEP, Kurichu HEP and Mangdechu HEP in Bhutan to India.
- For transfer of bulk power, interconnection between India and Nepal through Dhalkebar (Nepal) – Muzaffarpur (India) transmission line has been constructed. A total of about 700 MW of power is being supplied to Nepal through these interconnections.
