The Indian government has accepted the report of a task force which suggests ways to modernize the transmission sector and make it smart and future-ready. The report recommends a bouquet of technological and digital solutions, which can be adopted to make the state transmission grids future-ready. The task force report paves the way for modern and smart power transmission in India, featuring real-time monitoring, automated operation of the grid, better situational assessment, and greater resilience against cyber attacks and natural disasters.
The task force was set up by the power ministry in September 2021 under the chairmanship of POWERGRID chairman and managing director, and included representatives from state transmission utilities, Central Electricity Authority (CEA), central transmission utilities, MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), IIT Kanpur, NSGPMU, and EPTA.
The report was accepted by the government after deliberations with Union Power Minister R K Singh, who emphasized that achieving the government’s vision requires a modern transmission grid which will provide 24×7 reliable and affordable power to the people, as well as meeting sustainability goals. Singh directed the CEA to formulate necessary standards and regulations for adoption of identified technological solutions and set benchmark performance levels to build a robust and modern transmission network in the country.
The task force has recommended technological solutions including centralised remote monitoring, operation of substations, cyber security, energy storage system, and the use of drones and robots in construction and inspection of transmission assets. The task force also recommended benchmarks for transmission network availability and voltage control based on performance of global transmission utilities.
The short-term to medium-term recommendations will be implemented over 1-3 years, while the long-term interventions are proposed to be implemented over a period of 3-5 years. A fully automated, digitally controlled, fast responsive grid which is resilient to cyber attacks and natural disasters is the need of the hour, and the government’s acceptance of the task force report is a step towards achieving this goal.
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