UPCL- Karnataka’s longest double-circuit power line to be inaugurated tomorrow

UPCL- Karnataka’s longest double-circuit power line to be inaugurated tomorrow

Mangalore Today News Network

Bangalore, September 11, 2012: The 186-km state-of-the-art 400 kV power transmission line connecting Udupi and Shantigrama of Hassan district, that is set for formal inauguration on Wednesday, is not only a landmark for the State in terms of technical parameters, but is also poised to improve voltage situation in the districts of Mysore and Hassan, besides some parts of Bangalore.

This is because Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited will now be able to transmit an additional 600 MW of power to the State grid from the second unit of Udupi Power Company Limited with the help of this new line, built at a cost of nearly Rs. 400 crore.

 

 

The new line is the longest transmission line in the State having a double-circuit quad moose conductor that will help in quality transmission of high-volume power at low loss level, according to Energy Minister Shobha Karandlaje. As the line has a double circuit, the reliability of transmission is also high, as even if one circuit fails, the other will take the additional transmission load preventing any tripping, she noted.

Ms. Karandlaje told The Hindu that construction of this line was a challenge as it had to pass through difficult terrain of Malnad region which did not have roads. In all, 530 transmission towers with a height of 46 metres have been erected to support this line.

“The foundation was so huge that it took 75 lorry loads of concrete for erecting each tower. As vehicles could not reach the construction spot, the construction material as well as parts of tower that together accounted for about 100 lorry loads had to be manually transported for a distance of 0.5 km to 1 km,” sources said.

Pointing out that the new line, which will transmit 1,200 MW of power from the two units of UPCL, has actually got capacity to transmit 2,000 MW, Ms. Karandlaje said the additional transmission capacity would help evacuation of power from the new wind and mini-hydel projects coming up near the areas where the line passes through.

In addition to crossing several legal hurdles, approval was also taken from grama sabhas of 37 village panchayats for setting up this line, she noted.

Courtesy: The Hindu