Govt accepts report submitted by task force for power grid modernisation

New Delhi: The government has accepted a report prepared by a task force set up to suggest ways for the modernisation of the power grid and make it smart and future-ready, said the Ministry of Power on Tuesday. The task force, in its report, has recommended a bouquet of technological and digital solutions which can be adopted to make the state transmission grids future-ready. “The country will soon have a modern and smart power transmission system with features such as real-time monitoring and automated operation of grid, better situational assessment, the capability to have an increased share of renewable capacity in the power-mix, enhanced utilisation of transmission capacity, greater resilience against cyber-attacks as well as natural disasters, centralised and data-driven decision-making, reduction in forced outages through self-correcting systems etc,” said the Power Ministry in a statement.

The task force was set up by the Ministry of Power in September 2021 under the chairmanship of Power Grid Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) K Sreekant. The other members of the Task Force included representatives from state transmission utilities, Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Central Transmission Utilities, MeiTY, IIT Kanpur, NSGPMU and EPTA.

Modern transmission grid vital to 24x7 power: RK Singh

The report of the committee was accepted by the government after deliberations chaired by Union Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister RK Singh last week. During the meeting, the minister emphasised that a modern transmission grid is vital to achieving the government’s vision to provide 24x7 reliable and affordable power for all and also meet the sustainability goals. Singh said that a fully automated, digitally controlled, fast responsive grid that is resilient to cyberattacks and natural disasters is the need of the hour. Singh said that such a system should ensure the isolation of specific areas in case of any contingency, so as to protect the grid and prevent larger outages. Appreciating the efforts of the task force, Singh directed the CEA to formulate necessary standards and regulations for the adoption of identified technological solutions and set benchmark performance levels so as to build a robust and modern transmission network in the country.

Task force recommendations

These recommendations have been clubbed under categories of modernisation of existing transmission system, use of advanced technology in construction and supervision, operations and management, smart and future-ready transmission system, and up-skilling of workforce. The Task Force has recommended Centralised Remote Monitoring, Operation of Substations including SCADA, Flexible AC Transmission devices (FACTs), Dynamic Line Loading system (DLL), Wide Area Measurement System (WAMS) using PMUs and data analytics, Hybrid AC/HVDC system, Predictive maintenance technique using AI/ML algorithms, HTLS Conductors, Process Bus based Protection Automation and Control GIS/Hybrid Substation, Cyber Security, Energy Storage System and Drones and Robots in construction/inspection of transmission assets. The use of robots is expected to not only minimise human intervention and minimise life risks/hazards but also save time while ensuring accuracy during construction and maintenance. The task force also recommended benchmarks for transmission network availability and voltage control based on performance of global transmission utilities.

While the short-term to medium term recommendations will be implemented over 1-3 years, the long-term interventions are proposed to be implemented over a period of 3-5 years.

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