Projects worth over Rs 610 crore completed
PANAJI
With Goa’s peak hour power demand touching nearly 820 MW this year, the Electricity Department has undertaken infrastructure upgradation works worth over Rs 1,500 crore across the State, aiming to ensure uninterrupted supply, especially ahead of the monsoon season.
At the same time, projects worth over Rs 610 crore have already been completed as of February this year. These include substation upgrades, feeder improvement works and distribution strengthening initiatives that have been commissioned in phases across various parts of the State.
The remaining works, however, are still in different stages of execution. These span transmission strengthening, underground cabling, new substations, smart metering and overall system modernisation—key areas identified to improve reliability and meet rising electricity demand.
Sources in the department said the surge in consumption, driven by increased tourism activity and seasonal summer demand has pushed peak load up by nearly 25 per cent. “Upgradation of substations, feeders, new substations and underground cabling were taken up on priority. We intend to complete these works before the monsoon. Several projects are in advanced stages, with 80 to 95 per cent work already completed,” sources said.
Among the largest ongoing initiatives is the underground cabling scheme, with an outlay of over Rs 610 crore, which continues to be executed in phases across multiple urban centres. Similarly, works under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), estimated at over Rs 300 crore, remain underway, focusing on reducing transmission losses, feeder segregation and strengthening smart infrastructure.
Key transmission projects, including the strengthening of the 220 KV network (over Rs 200 crore) and the construction of the 220/110/33/11 KV substation at Verna (over Rs 150 crore), are in the final stage of completion.
Further, modernisation efforts such as SCADA and automation systems, valued at over ₹100 crore, and smart meter installations worth around Rs 800 crore are still in progress, forming a major part of the State’s push towards a more efficient and digitised power distribution network.
In addition, several 33/11 KV substation augmentation works and system improvement schemes, each involving multi-crore investments across talukas, remain partially complete.
