Sterlite Technologies Limited, a leading global provider of transmission solutions for the telecom data and power industries, has announced that its arm Sterlite Grid Ltd has bagged the Northern Region Strengthening Scheme (NRSS 29) project.
The NRSS 29 project, awarded by the Ministry of Power, Government of India, is its sixth ultra-mega transmission project (UMTP) on build-own-operate basis.
“The Northern Region Strengthening Scheme project is a part of the National Grid and is designed to carry over 1,000 MW electricity from Punjab to the Kashmir Valley,” Sterlite Tech, a Vedanta Group firm, said in a statement without disclosing the contract amount.
The Valley has been troubled by frequent blackouts on account of unavailability of sufficient power. These blackouts occur mostly during the winter months, thereby having a severe impact on the lives of the residents.
“The NRSS 29 project was conceived by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to provide a direct link between Punjab and the Valley region,” the company said, adding that a new route was specifically chosen to ensure the line has minimum outages.
Post-construction, Sterlite Grid will be responsible for ensuring that the link is active for 98 percent of the year. The project consists of one substation and 800 circuit kilometers of 400kV lines in the states of Punjab and J&K, according to the company.
Sterlite Grid has quoted an annual tariff of approximately Rs 440 crore per year, which is 5 percent lower than the next highest bid. This will be Sterlite Grid’s largest project in terms of revenues and scale.
The company continues to enjoy a leadership position in UMTP segment and now has a portfolio consisting of over 5000 circuit kilometers of EHV lines and three substations. When operational, this portfolio will deliver approximately Rs 1,100 crore tariff per year. Its first three projects are in final stages of construction, whereas its first operational line “Purnea to Biharsharif 400kV D/C” has been generating revenue since September 2013.
“We feel proud and fortunate to be selected by the Government of India to develop this iconic infrastructure project which will bring over 1,000 MWs of uninterrupted power to the residents of the Kashmir Valley. We look forward to commissioning this transmission link in record time with the help of the state government, the Government of India and the people of Jammu & Kashmir,” said Pravin Agarwal, Director, Sterlite Technologies Limited.
