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In its recent National Electricity Plan (Vol. II - Transmission), the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has proposed a groundbreaking project: a 1,150 km undersea power cable linking Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to Paradip, Odisha. The first phase of the project is estimated to cost ?31,000 crore.
According to the CEA document, the project aims to connect the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the Indian mainland using high-voltage direct current (HVDC) undersea cables. The interconnection will operate at ±320 kV with a capacity of 250 MW, using a cable designed for 500 MW, marking it as the first of its kind in the country. The project is expected to take five years to complete. In Phase II, an additional 250 MW HVDC terminal will be added at both locations, along with a cable linking Port Blair and the Nicobar Islands.
However, the rationale behind the project raises questions, as the current electricity demand in the Bay of Bengal islands is less than 100 MW, and there has been no indication that the islands can generate excess power for transmission to the mainland.
The project appears to be heavily influenced by geopolitical considerations. A power transmission expert, who spoke to Businessline on condition of anonymity, highlighted two key factors driving the initiative.
First, India is developing a large international container transshipment port at Galathea Bay on Great Nicobar Island, with an investment of $5 billion. This port is critical for India’s strategic influence over a vital shipping route.
Second, the project may be part of a broader vision to connect the Nicobar Islands to Singapore. The Paradip-Andamans link project seems to have been conceived in the context of the Sun Cable project’s initial collapse—an ambitious plan for a 4,300-km undersea power transmission line between Australia and Singapore aimed at distributing energy to ASEAN countries. Notably, the distance between Great Nicobar and Singapore is approximately 1,700 km, making it a feasible alternative for energy supply. However, recent reports indicate that Singapore has approved the import of solar energy from Australia via undersea cable.
Furthermore, linking the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to Singapore aligns with Indias ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ (OSOWOG) initiative, which envisions a multi-country grid for solar energy transmission, facilitating energy supply from sunlit regions to those that are not.
The CEA document notes ongoing discussions about the interconnection of the Indian Electricity Grid with Singapore, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Maldives, and other nations under the OSOWOG initiative. |
