India: Power Grid Transmission (Sector) Project

Abstract

The government of India in 2004—the year of loan appraisal—set the target of installing an additional 100 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity to provide access to electricity for all households by 2012.1 At that time, India was experiencing load shedding and quality problems because of the limited power transmission capacity. The country’s power system has five interconnected regions—northern, north eastern, eastern, western, and southern—with interconnections to neighboring states. State electricity boards are under the administrative control of the respective state ministry or department of power, and account for approximately 80% of commercial electricity sales. The Electricity Act of 2003 has also enabled open transmission access and the development of a power trading market, both demanding a robust and reliable transmission grid.