Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) has been chosen by PFC Consulting to develop an interstate transmission system to expand the transformation capacity of the Jam Khambhaliya Power Station in Gujarat.

This enhanced transmission infrastructure facilitates the evacuation of up to 3 GW of renewable energy, doubling the station’s capacity of 1.5 GW and allowing Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation (GETCO) to draw power from the power station.

This project will be executed on a build, own, operate, and transfer basis.

The transmission project includes several critical components. Chief among them are the creation of new 220 kV Bus Sections II and III at the Jam Khambhaliya Power Station and the installation of three additional 500 MVA, 400/220 kV transformers (5th, 6th, and 7th) dedicated to renewable energy injection. Additionally, two 220 kV GIS line bays will be implemented on Bus Section-II—one for ACME Sun Power and another for Juniper Green Energy.

The project also includes the installation of two more 500 MVA, 400/220 kV transformers (8th and 9th) for power drawal by GETCO, as well as the development of two gas-insulated substation line bays to connect the Kuvadia-Jam Khambhaliya 220 kV double-circuit line at Bus Section-III.

PGCIL will establish, operate, and maintain the project. This involves all project-related activities, such as conducting surveys, preparing detailed project reports, securing financing, and managing the overall project. It will also be responsible for land compensation, design and engineering, procurement of equipment and materials, and overseeing construction, erection, testing, and commissioning.

It must ensure that the final locations for substations, switching stations, or inverter stations fall within a 3 km radius of the proposed site in the survey report for generation pooling and load-serving substations. However, any greenfield intermediate substations must be located within a 10 km radius of the proposed site in the survey report.

Recently, PGCIL bagged two power transmission projects in Rajasthan through tariff-based competitive bidding. These projects are built to evacuate 5.5 GW of power from renewable energy zones in the state.

In April, PGCIL won the contracts to establish three inter-state transmission systems projects on a build, own, operate, and transfer basis to evacuate 18 GW of power from various renewable energy zones in Rajasthan and Gujarat.