Chapter-3

TRANSMISSION
3.1

PLANNING PHILOSOPHY

Over the years, transmission system planning exercises was taking place on the basis of regional self-sufficiency. Development of transmission system based on this philosophy has gradually resulted in emergence of strong regional grid systems. During the period from mid 70s and up to beginning of 90s, while the regional grids were in initial phases of development and required support of the underlying state grid systems, the growth plan of regional systems and the state grid networks were critically matched. The process of techno-economic appraisal and clearance by the Central Electricity Authority played a key role in achieving this objective in transmission system development. Subsequently, the emergence of strong regional grid systems and the role of state grid systems getting more focused towards meeting the local needs with in the intra-state system, allowed the planning and development process for the two segments to run some what independently.

3.2

As of now, regional grid systems, strong enough to meet the inter-state transmission needs without significant support from underlying state grid network are already in place. With this, the need of coordination for planning of states transmission system requires focus mainly at the interface of regional grid power supply or power lifting points.

3.3

With generation planning moving towards all-India basis so as to develop the generation resources optimally, the focus in transmission planning for regional grids has shifted from regional concept to National concept. The concept has emerged in view of cost economics favoring transmission of electricity over transportation of coal, saving in investment in generation capacity (when planned on all India basis) more than the additional investment in National Grid and savings on account of diversity in regional demand, sharing of reserves, better utilization of hydro resources and reducing operational cost.

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3.4

The formation of National grid is already on the horizon. ER/NER/WR is operating synchronously. With commissioning of Tala transmission system in June 2006, NR would also get interconnected to this system synchronously. Towards SR, HVDC interconnections are at Gazuwaka(1000MW), Talcher-Kolar(2000MW) and

Chandrapur(1000MW). Thus with the existing and planned/under implementation high capacity AC and HVDC transmission links connecting the various regions, the transmission system development is well ahead on the road of National grid. The goal is to achieve strong and secured National Grid by progressive harnessing of ER/NER resources on all India basis, phased development of cross-regional transmission system and long term perspective to address RoW constraints.

3.5

Optimum development of growth plan requires centralized planning of the National grid and Regional grid systems. The process to achieve this is being coordinated by the Central Electricity Authority. Steps involved in this process are: Preliminary proposal based on long-term perspective plan brought out by the Central Electricity Authority. Selecting medium-long term time frame for detailed investigation of proposal so as to evolve the system and work out suitable schemes for implementation as per identified time schedule. Study of options/alternatives by the Central Transmission Utility as formulation of draft proposal on scheme supported by study brief. Analysis of proposal by the Central Electricity Authority based on study brief and further power system studies and formulation of agenda note for discussion in the Standing Committee(s) on Transmission Planning of the Region(s) to be benefited by the directly scheme that is the region(s) whose beneficiaries have to pay the committed transmission charges. Deliberation and discussions in the Regional Standing Committee(s) on transmission planning so as to arrive at the decision in regard to the schemes to be taken-up for execution

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3.6

Transmission planning and development should aim at achieving an acceptable system performance and to facilitate comparison of options on techno-economic angle. The requirements and major attributes of planning characteristics to achieve this are:
Requirement
Data on existing system Load forecast Generation expansion plan Seasonal load-generation scenario Network expansion options

Characteristics
Meeting targets for adequacy, security and reliability Amenable to development in stages Low cost and low environmental impact Right-of-way optimization/Conservation

Ease of operation and maintenance Transmission margins and inter-regional capacity enhancement feasibility Identifying weak areas and corresponding strengthening

3.7

In the planning phase, transmission requirements for generation projects and system reinforcement needs are evolved based on detailed system studies supported with

techno-economic studies keeping in view various state-of-art technological options. The studies/analysis and the options to be considered are problem specific that is in a particular exercise, only a sub-set of the analysis/studies may be necessary and only a limited number of options may be relevant. The type of major system studies and technology options that are considered in the exercise are as follows:
Types of studies Technological Options

Power flow studies Contingency Studies Short circuit studies/ Fault analysis Transient and long duration dynamic stability and voltage stability studies EMTP studies Techno-economic analysis Investment requirements

400kV AC, 765kV AC, 1000kV AC HVDC/UHVDC ( +500kV, +600kV, +800kV) Hybrid model High capacity lines with multi-circuit, high conductor temperature option Series compensation for transmission capacity enhancement Dynamic reactive power compensation- TCSC, SVC, STATCOM/FA CTS

3.8

The major points of transmission planning criteria are: (1) (2) The transmission system should be planned in an integrated manner. The optimization should include the total network including that under the CTU as well as that for the STU(s).
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(3)

The National Grid should facilitating free flow of power across the regional boundaries. In the national approach N-2 criteria may be adopted for large generating complex (3000 MW or above) and multi line corridors (3 D/C lines or more), on case to case basis. Whereas, regional planning may be continued with N-1 criteria. However, while N-1 would be applied to test withstand without necessitating load shedding or rescheduling of generation during steady state operation, N-2 would be applied to test withstand without necessitating load shedding but could be with rescheduling of generation during steady state operation. Inter-regional exchanges and inter-connection capacity on account of plant mix considerations, generation shortages due to forced outages, diversity in weather pattern and load forecasting errors in regions shall also be considered in the studies. Inter-regional exchange with a combination of surplus and deficit scenarios for different regions maximizing surplus in surplus region and deficit in deficit region to be considered in evolving National Grid. The adequacy of the transmission system should be tested for different load generation scenarios corresponding to one or more of the following so as to test the scenario of maximum burden on the transmission system: Summer Peak Load; Summer Off-peak Load; Winter Peak Load; Winter Off-peak Load; Monsoon Peak Load; Monsoon Off-peak Load; Dispatch scenarios for maximizing transfer in specific inter-regional corridors should be considered to determine the adequacy of transmission system to take care of requirement of regional diversity in inter-regional export / import. Sensitivity in respect of generation dispatch or load demand should be studied so as to study the possibility of increased burden on transmission system. Size and number of interconnecting transformers (ICTs) to planned in such a way that outage of any single unit does not over load the remaining ICTs or the underlying system. As a general rule, the ISTS shall be capable of withstanding and be secure against the following contingency outages: (a) Withstand without necessitating load shedding or rescheduling of generation during steady state operation - Outage of a 132kV D/C line, or - Outage of a 220kV D/C line, or
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(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

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(b)

Outage of a 400kV S/C line, or Outage of a 400kV S/C line with series compensation, or Outage of single Interconnecting Transformer, or Outage of one pole of HVDC Bipole line, or Outage of a 765kV S/C line without series compensation.

Withstand without necessitating load shedding but could be with rescheduling of generation during steady state operation - Outage of a 400kV S/C line with TCSC, or - Outage of a 400kV D/C line, or - Outage of both poles of HVDC Bipole line, or - Outage of a 765kV S/C line with series compensation.

(12)

The above contingencies shall be considered assuming a pre-contingency system depletion (Planned Outage) of another 220kV D/C line or 400kV S/C line in another corridor and not emanating from the same substation. All the Generating Units may operate within their reactive capability curves and the network voltage profile shall also be maintained within voltage limits specified.

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