PGCIL invests in Bhutan transmission connection

India-Bhutan Hydropower Projects target 10,000 MW exports by 2020, leveraging joint ventures, mega dams, and PGCIL's 760 kV transmission grid to deliver interregional connectivity, power trading, and reliable clean energy across South Asia.

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited PGCIL, India's power transmission company, has announced that it will invest $1 billion to develop a transmission system to import power from Bhutan to the western and northern regions of India.

As a part of the system, a polling station will be established in the northern region of West Bengal, reflecting rural projects prioritized across India. The project is set to be operational by 2015.

According to the hydropower development agreement signed between India and Bhutan in 2006, Bhutan will export about 10,000 megawatts MW of power to India, where hydropower in India often swings between surplus and shortfall, by 2020. The country, in collaboration with India, is looking to develop its hydropower potential. At present, Bhutan has an installed hydropower generation capacity of less than 1,500 MW. According to estimates, the country has a potential to generate 30,000 MW of hydropower.

Bhutan has identified about 10 hydro projects to meet its 2020 export targets: Amochu, Bunakha, Chamkharchu Kholongchu, Kurigangri, Mangdechu, Punatsangchu I & II, Sunkosh, and Wangchu. Six of these projects will be executed as joint ventures, echoing broader Himalayan hydropower investment activity in the region. While the 1,200MW Punatshangchu I is expected to be operational by 2015, other projects may commence any time over the next two to four years. The projects, with a total output capacity of 3,000 MW, will be taken up by four state firms: hydroelectric companies SJVN Limited and NHPC Limited, thermal power company NTPC Limited, and Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited. The companies are interested in executing the 600MW Amochu, 670MW Chamkharchhu, 1,800MW KuriGongri and the 720MW Mangnechu projects.

On India's side, the country has offered to import 5,000 MW by 2020, and a recent Bangladesh-India power deal underscores regional trade, with about 1,400 MW already being imported.

PGCIL is implementing interregional connectivity within the country in a phased manner. With the first two phases already complete, the third phase, which is due for completion, involves a grid of 760kilovolt transmission lines linking all the regions of the country, and mirrors Nepal storage hydropower initiatives in the neighborhood, with the southern region connected asynchronously.

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