Leh-Ladakh finally connected to National Grid

Leh (Ladakh): Prime Minister, Narendra Modi dedicated the 220 kV Srinagar-Drass-Kargil-Khaltsi-Leh Transmission System, in a step to-wards powering Ladakh and connecting country's northern part to the National Grid.

On this occasion, addressing the gathering he said, "I got the opportunity of laying the foundation stone of this project and to-day again I have got the opportunity to dedicate this project. With this more than Rs. 2000 crore project, the problem of electricity in Leh-Ladakh is going to be minimised."

Built at a height of around 3000-4000 meters, this around 335 km long transmission line has been constructed by Power Grid Corporation of In-dia Limited (POWERGRID), a Navratna Company of Government of India, under Ministry of Power, in snow-bound difficult hilly terrains. In this project, the four new State-of-the-Art 220/66 kV Gas Insulated Sub-stations built at Drass, Kargil, Khaltsi and Leh will help to ensure 24x7 quality power in all weather conditions.

It is a flagship project of Government of India, under PMRP scheme, which was aimed to improve reliability & quality of power supply in Ladakh region of J&K by connecting it with National Grid. The implementation of this project was also aimed to supply power to the people of Ladakh in harsh winters and evacuation of surplus power of Kargil & Leh Hydel stations of NHPC in summers.

This will not only help evacuate power in summers, but will also supply power to the region in winters when temperatures dip and hydro electric-ity generation do not match up. The project will meet the power demand of Ladakh region at economical rates. It will not only ensure quality power supply, but will also give huge boost to the tourism sector and will enhance socio-economic development of Ladakh, as quality power will be distributed to homes and business establishments of the region in all weathers.

This transmission project of around Rs. 2266 crore will result in minimizing the massive use of diesel generating sets during winters, and thus will not only help in protection of beautiful environment, of pristine Ladakh, but will also save import expenditure in foreign currency incurred on crude oil, thereby benefiting the state exchequer.

It will also give boost to the tourism sector, especially hospitality industry in Ladakh, as quality electricity at reasonable rates will be accessible due to non-reliance on diesel.

This herculean task executed by POWERGRID in unforeseen weather conditions was made possible by immaculate project monitoring skills, high team spirit and strategic planning and use of modern technologies. The line remains snow covered for nearly six months with the minimum temperature going down to as low as -40 degrees at Drass. Therefore, specially designed tower foundations were constructed.