Adani Commissions Largest Inter-Regional 765 KV Warora-Kurnool Transmission Line

Ahmedabad, 19 October 2023: The Warora Kurnool Transmission (WKTL), spanning 1,756 circuit kilometers across Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, was fully commissioned by Adani Energy Solutions Limited (AESL). The project will strengthen the national grid to ensure a seamless power flow of 4500 MW between the Western region and the Southern region. It will strengthen the southern region grid and support large-scale integration of generation from renewable energy sources.

Background of Asse

Warora Kurnool Transmission Limited (WKTL) was incorporated in April, 2015 to establish an additional inter-regional alternate current link for import into the southern region, i.e., Warora-Warangal and Chilakaluripeta-Hyderabad-Kurnool, along with the creation of a 765/400 kV sub-station in Warangal. WKTL is the largest 765 kV D/C (Hexa conductor) TBCB (tariff-based competitive bidding) project ever awarded under a single scheme. It involved the laying of an 1756 ckm transmission line traversing across Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh and the construction of a 765 KV sub-station in Warangal on a build, own, operate and maintain basis. This was awarded on a Tariff-based competitive bid (TBCB) to Essel InfraProjects Ltd in early 2016 and subsequently acquired by AESL in March 2021 following the stressed debt restructuring undertaken by lenders.

The magnitude of the project can be gauged from the fact that a total of 1,03,000 MT of steel was used for erecting the towers. This equals the amount of material that would be needed to set up 10 Eiffel Towers. A total of 30,154 km of the conductor was used for the transmission lines which is comparable to making three rounds of the moon. What makes this important is that the required conductor material is made from a specialized alloy.

An engineering and execution marvel, two mid-stream towers of 102 m height each with pile foundations was set up on the Krishna River for the first time ever. Planning and execution were crucial for this, as only a three-month working window was available during the year when the water level was low in the river. Among the other challenges were the erection of towers and the stringing of lines duly crossing 116 major power lines, railway-electrified tracks, and national highways.

Other superlative accomplishments included

1. 1,524 ckm of stringing was completed in 11 months, at a rate of 140 ckm/ month

2. 100 MT tower erected per day with an average of 15 gangs and a peak mobilization of 40 gangs

3. Peak mobilization of 2,000 workers across sites

4. The project also braved two black swan global events: COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war. These caused disruptions in the entire commodity supply chain as well as leading to repeated demobilization and mobilization challenges.

About Adani Energy Solutions Limited (AESL)

AESL, part of the Adani portfolio, is a multidimensional organisation with presence in various facets of the energy domain, namely power transmission, distribution, smart metering, and cooling solutions. AESL is the country’s largest private transmission company, with a presence across 14 states of India and a cumulative transmission network of 20,000 ckm and 53,000 MVA transformation capacity. In its distribution business, AESL serves more than 12 million consumers in metropolitan Mumbai and the industrial hub of Mundra SEZ. AESL is ramping up its smart metering business and is on course to become India’s leading smart metering integrator. AESL, with its integrated offering through the expansion of its distribution network through parallel licenses and competitive and tailored retail solutions, including a significant share of green power, is revolutionising the way energy is delivered to the end consumer. AESL is a catalyst for transforming the energy landscape in the most reliable, affordable, and sustainable way.