Foundation was laid for the 765 kv Raichur-Solapur transmission system at Ashkihall village in Raichur district by union power minister M Veerappa Moily on Friday, which would clear the major bottleneck in transmission of power from north to south.
The transmission line will connect the southern power grid with the national grid and would end the power woes of five southern states.
The transmission line will be completed and become fully operational by January 1, 2014.
The transmission system is proposed at an estimated cost of Rs 1,930 crore.
States like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and Puducherry have no dedicated lines to purchase power even by paying higher rates when they face severe power crisis.
Once the transmission line is completed AP or any other southern state could purchase power from Arunachal Pradesh or even from Jammu and Kashmir.
“We are concerned about the grid situation, where southern states could not get power.
After 765 kv transmission line is completed the country will have one frequency for power transmission,” Moily said.
Out of all regions the NR, ER, WR, and NER are synchronised which is known as NEW Grid, whereas southern region is not synchronised with the rest of the regions.
Once the southern grid gets synchronised with NEW grid, it will establish reliable and resourceful infrastructure for import of power from NEW grid to southern grid during peak demand as well as export of surplus power from southern region during off-peak demand period.
The grid connection would enable southern region to access bigger market.
The synchronous operation of NEW and SR grids will facilitate a robust and integrated power system for the country.
Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd chairman and managing director RN Nayak said the transmission system shall be the ultimate step towards establishment of all India Synchronous National Grid facilitating bulk transfer for power across regional boundaries.
Any state could purchase power from anywhere in the country at any time, he added.
Recently, the Andhra Pradesh power utility decided to buy power even paying Rs 10 per unit, but power was not available.