Adani Energy Solutions Limited (AESL) has completed the commissioning of the 1,756 circuit kilometer Warora Kurnool Transmission (WKTL), which crosses the states of Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.
The project would fortify the national grid to guarantee a smooth transfer of 4500 MW of electricity between the Western and Southern regions.
It will facilitate the widespread integration of power from renewable energy sources and reinforce the system in the southern area.
Incorporated in April 2015, Warora Kurnool Transmission Limited (WKTL) is responsible for building a 765/400 kV sub-station in Warangal and establishing two more inter-regional alternative current links for import into the southern area, namely Warora-Warangal and Chilakaluripeta-Hyderabad-Kurnool.
WKTL is the biggest TBCB (tariff-based competitive bidding) project for a 765 kV D/C (Hexa conductor) ever granted under a single scheme.
It required building a 765 KV sub-station in Warangal on a build, own, operate, and maintain basis, as well as installing a 1756 ckm transmission line that crossed Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.
This was given on the basis of a Tariff-based Competitive Bid (TBCB) to Essel InfraProjects Ltd. at the beginning of 2016, and AESL later purchased it in March of 2021 when the lenders undertook a stressed debt restructuring.
The project’s size may be understood by the fact that 1,03,000 MT of steel in total were utilized to construct the towers. This is equivalent to the materials required to build 10 Eiffel Towers.
The transmission lines required 30,154 km of conductor in total, which is equivalent to three orbits around the moon.
This is significant because the necessary conductor material is created from a unique alloy.
Two 102-meter-tall mid-stream towers with pile foundations were initially placed on the Krishna River, and they represent a wonder of engineering and execution.
This required careful planning and execution since there was only a three-month window of opportunity each year when the river’s water level was low. The construction of towers and the stringing of cables properly spanning 116 main power lines, railway electrified tracks, and national roads were among the other difficulties.
Other outstanding achievements included:
The stringing of 1,524 ckm was finished in 11 months at a pace of 140 ckm/month.
With an average of 15 gangs and a maximum mobilization of 40 gangs, 100 MT towers are built per day.
peak 2,000 worker mobilization across all locations
The initiative also persevered through the Covid-19 and Russia-Ukraine conflict, two black swan global crises.
These led to frequent problems with demobilization and mobilization and disrupted the whole commodities supply chain.