Heralding a major technological jump in the power transmission sector, US-based leading aviation services provider Erickson Incorporated would provide aircranes and other flying materials to Sterlite Grid Power Ventures for critical project in Jammu & Kashmir – aimed to supply 2,000 Mw power in the region.
Erickson, in a release last evening, said it is partnering with Sterlite Grid to install nearly 160 power transmission towers in the challenging terrain of the PirPanjal mountain range in northern India, using Erickson’s S64 Aircrane. Sterlite Grid is largest private operator of independent power transmission systems in the country.
The project — Northern Region System Strengthening- XXIX (NRSS-29) — was awarded to Sterlite Grid through tariff-based competitive bidding in May 2014. Scheduled to commission in 2018, the project will be a key corridor that would strengthen the power transfer capability in J&K, providing an alternate route for power transfer, said the company. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 3,000 crore.
Sterlite had last year joined hands with another US aerial solutions company — Burns & McDonnell — to source heli-cranes for erecting towers in hilly terrains.
The project involves 450 kilometres of transmission lines between Punjab and J&K and 400 220-Kv gas-insulated substations (GIS) in Amargarh, Rajasthan. A total of 1,150 towers will have to be erected in PirPanjal in the inner Himalayan region.
“The initiative will be the first time that transmission lines will be constructed, utilising a precision heavy-lift helicopter in India. The company expects to complete the transmission network nearly 10 months ahead of schedule, utilising Erickson’s aerial expertise in setting transmission towers. The work is set to commence in mid-2016,” said the media statement of Erickson.
Erickson will assist Sterlite Grid by flying materials and steel as well as utilising the aircrane’s high-precision lift capability to erect the towers along the powerline. The work will be performed at altitudes between 9,000-12,500 feet in a remote region of the Himalayas.
Erickson has 40 years of experience in building transmission towers utilising the aircrane in similarly remote and austere environments.
The state of J&K faces a power crisis, with a deficit of more than 5,500 million units of electricity annually. It has lately increased its focus on the power reforms and drafted a separate budget for the sector.
The current power demand of the state is 2,400 Mw, slated to increase to 3,500 Mw in three years. Sterlite, in an earlier statement said, strengthened connection with the North Grid would help solve the power crisis that J&K faces. With increasing share of renewable energy in the grid, the line would also enable the transmission of same.
POWER BOOSTER
US major aerial solutions company Erickson Incorporated ties up with Indian power transmission company Sterlite Grid
To provide aircranes and other similar flying materials to help construction of towers in hilly terrain of PirPanjal
Tie-up for Northern Region System Strengthening-XXIX (NRSS-29) – aimed at 2,000-Mw power supply
Estimated cost – Rs 3,000 crore
Around 1,150 tower construction involved
