Sterlite Power Grid becomes India’s first to deploy Aircrane

Sterlite Power Grid Ventures Limited (Sterlite Grid)has become India’s first private power transmission developer to deploy Aircrane for setting up of a power transmission line in the extremely challenging terrain of Jammu & Kashmir. Sterlite Grid has partnered with US-based Erickson Inc. to install nearly 160 transmission towers in the rough terrain of Pir Panjal ranges, using Erickson’s S64 Aircrane, a heavy lift helicopter.  With the NRSS 29 Project set to commence in mid-2016, Sterlite Grid expects to commission the transmission network between Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir nearly 10 months ahead of schedule. Erickson will help Sterlite Grid erect towers for the NRSS 29 power line in the remote Himalayan region at altitudes of 9,000-12,500 feet. Erickson will fly materials and steel to build the towers utilising the S64 Aircrane, capable of high-precision aerial lift work. Erickson has 40 years of experience building transmission towers utilising the Aircrane in similarly remote and austere environments. 

With J&K’s power demand at about 3,000 MW, the Project will enable the state to draw double the power from the national grid. Today, the state is dependent on local hydro power projects and a single transmission line passes through avalanche/landslide prone areas connecting J&K with the national grid. The NRSS 29 project will strengthen the existing power transfer capability by 70%, provide an alternate route for power transfer and increase reliability of the grid.