News Highlights:
- Recently, the Government accepted a Taskforce report to modernise the power transmission system with features such as real-time monitoring and automated operation of the grid, better situational assessment etc.
- The Power Ministry set up a task force under the chairmanship of CMD, POWERGRID, to suggest ways for modernisation of the Transmission Sector and to make it smart & future-ready.
Taskforce:
- About Taskforce:
- In 2021, a task force was set up by the Ministry of Power to recommend steps for the modernisation of the transmission sector and make it future-ready and smart.
- The other members of the task force were representatives of
- MeiTY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology),
- Central and state transmission utilities,
- Central Electricity Authority (CEA),
- IIT Kanpur, etc.
- The long-term recommendations will be implemented across 3-5 years and short-term to medium-term across 1-3 years.
- Key Recommendations:
- The Taskforce report has recommended the following solutions to achieve the government’s vision to provide 24×7 reliable and affordable power to the people
- Operation of the grid using Centralised Remote Monitoring
- Operation of Substations by using modern systems like SCADA, Flexible AC Transmission devices (FACTs)
- Wide Area Measurement using PMUs and data analytics,
- Predictive maintenance using AI/ML algorithms
- Deployment of Process Bus-based Protection Automation and Control GIS/Hybrid Substation.
Smart Grid:
- About:
- Smart Grid is an Electrical Grid with Automation, Communication, and IT systems that can monitor power flows from points of generation to points of consumption (even down to the appliances level) and control the power flow or curtail the load to match generation in real-time or near real-time.
- Smart Grids can be achieved by implementing efficient transmission & distribution systems, system operations, consumer integration and renewable integration.
- Smart grid solutions help to monitor, measure and control power flows in real-time, can contribute to the identification of losses and thereby appropriate technical and managerial actions can be taken to arrest the losses.
- Significance of modern transmission system:
- Reduction in forced outages through self-correcting systems.
- Centralised and data-driven decision-making.
- Enhanced utilisation of transmission capacity.
- Better situational assessment.
- Automated operation of the grid and real-time monitoring.
- Greater resilience against natural disasters and cyber-attacks.
- Capacity to have an increased share of renewables in the power mix.
- Challenges:
- India’s aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses are very high, leading to a shortage of power at the consumer level.
- Low tariffs and cross-subsidisation result in a wide gap between the average per-unit cost of supply (ACS) and average revenue realised (ARR).
Initiatives by the Government for improving Access:
- Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA):
- Empowering rural and urban households through access to reliable and affordable electricity.
- Green Energy Corridor (GEC):
- Synchronising grid-connected renewable energy with India’s national transmission network.
- National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM) and Smart Meter National Programme (SMNP):
- Modernising India’s power sector into a secure, adaptive, sustainable, and digitally enabled ecosystem.
- Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana:
- The rural electrification scheme provides for the separation of agriculture and non-agriculture feeders;
- It will strengthen and augmentation of sub-transmission and distribution infrastructure in rural areas.
Pic Courtesy: Freepik
Content Source: PIB