OREANDA-NEWS. Helps bridge the supply gap in power to ensure 24x7 power for Mumbai Invested nearly Rs1,000 crore in the last three to four years

Mumbai: Tata Power, India's largest integrated power utility, has always taken pioneering steps to meet the ever-growing power needs of Mumbai and in helping the city achieve and retain its premium status of the commercial capital of India. Today, the Tata Power transmission network is the most reliable system in the country and carries 60-70 percent of the bulk power consumed by Mumbai city. The company's transmission system is the key interlink between the generation and distribution of power as it plays a two-fold role by linking the city with the Maharashtra state grid as well as the national grid. In addition, it links the embedded generation of Mumbai in Trombay with the Mumbai network distribution utilities. A superior transmission network with islanding feature ensures no failure and prevents major blackouts like the ones experienced by North India in July 2012, leaving nearly 620 million people from 22 states impacted.

The peak load of Mumbai was approximately 3,500MW in 2012, as against the embedded generation capacity of 2,300MW. The remaining power requirement gap was bridged by importing power to the city via Tata Power's transmission network.

The company's transmission lines availability is at 99.9 plus percent. Also, the transmission lines are utilised by other discoms of Mumbai, including Reliance Infra, BEST, Tata Power Distribution and MSEDCL.

S Padmanabhan, ED, operations, Tata Power, said, “Tata Power is committed to provide reliable and uninterrupted power to the city of Mumbai. Reliable power supply is a culmination of successful planning, functioning and maintaining of multiple facets of the power industry. The transmission system is the key interlink between generation and distribution of power to consumers which include residents, banks, stock exchanges, large corporate offices, small and large industries, malls, hospitals, hotels and the lifeline of Mumbai - local trains. We are proud to be a key contributor in the development of Mumbai city. We will continue to invest to provide uninterrupted services to our consumers.”

Along with its established network the company also has plans to expand its transmission business further in the city. The focus for the Tata Power transmission system has been to ensure that the right capacity is available to meet the load growth of Mumbai. Recently, Tata Power announced the commissioning of additional transmission lines in Maharashtra between Kalwa and Salsette. This 220kV line has already relieved the critical loading of the Kalwa-Salsette lines and has enhanced the transmission capacity for bringing power from outside to Mumbai city.

Tata Power has always kept pace with the load requirement and has done planning till 2026, to cater to Mumbai's load growth. In line with this, Tata Power has started work on installation of a 400Kv station at Vikhroli and 400Kv transmission lines from Kharghar / Nagothane to Vikhroli. The company has invested nearly Rs1,000 crore in the last three to four years.