ADB grants $ 750m for electricity distribution improvements in India [Nov 2011]

November 25, 2011 5:30 am

Asian Development Bank (ADB) to invest $ 750 million for power transmission systems that will help India efficiently transfer electricity to regions where the need is greatest, spurring growth and poverty reduction.
The loan financing for the national grid improvement project will allow the bulk transfer of electricity (3,000 MW) from independent power producers in Chhattisgarh, to areas of high demand in the north, including the national capital territory of Delhi. It will be done through the establishment of a 1,300 km interregional transmission link using 800 kV high voltage direct current (HVDC) technology, a key driver of smart grid development. The funds will be made available to the POWERGRID.
“Strengthening the interregional HVDC transmission network will promote open access to power supply, increase investment in both generation and distribution, help integrate the electricity market and encourage power trading and competitive electricity prices,” said Kaoru Ogino, Senior Energy Specialist in ADB’s South Asia Department.
India’s demand for electricity, fuelled by its strong growth, has sharply exceeded supply in recent years, with a peak power deficit of over 12 per cent in 2010. The generating capacity has been increasing over the years in India but expansion of the transmission network has not kept pace. Some states have the capacity to generate more power than they need, and creating interregional transmission corridors will allow them to move surplus electricity to areas short of supply.
To develop the national grid, POWERGRID plans to invest about $ 22 billion to more than double the size of its transmission network between now and 2017, thus expanding its funding base from the present sources of domestic bonds and government-guaranteed loans to new foreign commercial borrowing.