2,000 MW transmission line to be ready by March

The Padgha-Kharghar transmission line in Mumbai, which will bring in an additional 2,000 MW of electricity, is expected to be ready by March 2024. The project, built at a cost of ₹900 crore, will bring cheaper power from the national grid to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region for the next few decades. The line is being monitored by the PRAGATI governance portal. The peak power demand in the region is expected to rise sharply due to various development projects. Work on the transmission line was expedited after the October 2020 blackout in Mumbai.

Mumbai: The 90-km long Padgha-Kharghar transmission line, which will bring in an additional 2,000-megawatt (MW) electricity into the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), is expected to be ready by March 2024. Built at a cost of ₹900 crore, the project is in its last phase, with lines remaining to be laid in a few stretches, said officials from Mumbai Urja Marg Transmission (MUMT), an inter-state transmission project implemented by Sterlite Power.

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“This line, which will be monitored by PRAGATI governance portal, has the potential to bring cheaper power from the national grid into MMR for the next few decades,” said a MUMT official.

The development is important since the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), which will be inaugurated on January 12, is expected to boost the economy in MMR to $1 trillion.

At present, the peak power demand in MMR during summer is 4,500 MW. This is expected to rise sharply, as the state government has already approved the New Town Development Authority spanning 323 square kilometres in MMR. Proposed data centres, the NAINA project, the Navi Mumbai international airport and Metro rail corridors will also spur electricity demand in MMR.

Work on the transmission line was expedited after the October 2020 blackout in Mumbai due to overloading of transmission lines. MUMT identified more than 1,000 project-affected people in Panvel, Ambernath, Kalyan, Thane and Bhiwandi who resided within 23 metres on either side of the transmission line and paid ₹400 crore to them towards compensation and rehabilitation.

Though work on laying the transmission line started in early 2023, the initial deadline of December 2023 was missed, as some residents wanted transmission towers to be placed in forested areas, away from their homes and farms.

“Our alignment is away from the forest and so that trees don’t need to be cut. We are sorting out the issue,” said a MUMT official.

The Padgha-Navi Mumbai and Apta-Taloja transmission lines under MUMT, where work is underway, are expected to further enhance the power supply scenario in the state.