The State’s first 400-kV substation with gas-insulated switchgear, regarded as a game changer in the power distribution sector, will soon become operational at Kuravilangad in Kottayam.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the substation along with the Kottayam Lines Package at a function on November 12. Power Minister K. Krishnankutty will preside while Cooperation Minister V.N. Vasavan will be the chief guest.
The substation, established at a cost of ₹152 crore with financial assistance from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), is part of the project TransGrid 2.0, which aims at scaling potentially crippling handicaps in power transmission.
According to officials, the substation will help in the transmission of power from the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant to central Kerala through the Tirunelveli-Kochi 400-kV line. The power will then be redistributed to Kottayam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts through 220-kV lines. To enable this, a network comprising four 400-kV feeders, two 315-MVA transformers and six 220-kV feeders has been set up.
The redistribution of power will be through the 220-kV substations at Pallam, Ettumanur and Ambalamugal respectively . As part of it, feeders have been set up at four locations and the installation of 400-kV lines and 220-kV and 110-kV substations and related multi-circuit and volted lines too have been completed.
“With the realisation of these substations and related projects, the transmission loss will be reduced by 119.65 million units per year. Built on a 13.51 acres property, the gas-insulated 400-k substation is equivalent to setting up a 24.7-MW power generation plant. The substation will also help increase the power import capacity of the State to 3,860 MW,’’ said a Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) official.
Constructed using the Gas-Insulated Switchgear (GIS) technology , the project involves low maintenance costs and downtime. It also required less than half the space of a conventional substation. Works on the project kicked off in October 2020.
