PANAJI
Goa-Tamnar Power Transmission project, which is currently facing major hurdle following Karnataka government's rejection to carve out a power transmission line through the Western Ghats forest and further pending clearance from National Board of Wildlife (NBW) is one amongst the many projects -- across India -- which are facing delays thus weakening the transmission grid prospects.
The transmission sector may impede India’s efforts for economic growth with 44 projects of Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) being delayed by difficulties in obtaining right of way and forest clearance, according to Flash Report for December 2023.
The Flash Report contains information on the status of 44 central sponsored PGCIL Projects costing Rs 150 crore and above. According to the report 60 per cent of the under construction projects -- that is 26 out of 44 -- are delayed with an average delay of 27 months. These delays are likely to cost over Rs 7000 crore excess financial burden.
The Infrastructure and Project Monitoring Division (IPMD) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is mandated to monitor central sector infrastructure projects costing Rs 150 crore and above.
The status is based on the information provided on the Online Computerised Monitoring System (OCMS) by the project implementing agencies.
The report further points out that 19 projects under the Regulated Tariff Mechanism (RTM) mode are delayed by an average of 33 months with cost overrun of Rs 6,886 cr, which includes two projects in North East accounting of Rs 5964 cr with 73 months delay.
There are seven RTM projects with a delay of more than 50 months with a cost overun of Rs 6,709 cr.
Also, another seven Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) based projects are delayed by an average of 11 months, but surprisingly no cost overrun of these projects has been reported.
The country’s weak transmission grid remains a serious hurdle for renewable energy initiatives. As per the past reports, every year, hundreds of renewable energy projects are forced to halt in the advanced planning phases due to transmission line upgrade delays and associated costs.
