Cabinet approves Intra-State Transmission System, GEC Phase-II

GEC Phase – II is targeted to set up with a total estimated cost of ₹12,031.33 crore and Central Financial Assistance at 33 percent of the project cost of ₹3970.34 crores.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs recently approved the scheme on Green Energy Corridor (GEC) Phase-II for Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS) for the addition of approximately 10,750 circuit kilometres (ckm) of transmission lines and approximately 27,500 Mega Volt-Amperes (MVA) transformation capacity of substations. 

The scheme will facilitate grid integration and power evacuation of approximately 20 GW of renewable energy power projects in seven states namely, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

The scheme is targeted to be set up with a total estimated cost of ₹12,031.33 crore and Central Financial Assistance (CFA) at 33 percent of the project cost i.e. ₹3970.34 crore.  The transmission systems will be created over a period of five years from Financial Year 2021-22 to 2025-26. The CFA will help in offsetting the Intra-State transmission charges and thus keep the power costs down. Thus, the support from the government will ultimately benefit the end-users, i.e the citizens of India.

The scheme will help in achieving the target of 450 GW installed RE capacity by 2030. It will also contribute to long term energy security of the country and promote ecologically sustainable growth by reducing carbon footprint. It will generate large direct and indirect employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled personnel in power and other related sectors.

The GEC Phase-II is in addition to GEC-Phase-I which is already under implementation in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu for grid integration and power evacuation of approx. 24 GW of RE power and is expected to be completed by 2022. It is for the addition of 9700 ckm of transmission lines and 22600 MVA capacity of substations having estimated cost of transmission projects of ₹ 10,141.68 crore with CFA of ₹4056.67 crore.