Mumbai

Hitachi Energy, a market and technology leader in transmission, distribution, and grid automation solutions, has won a major order from Adani Electricity Mumbai Infra Limited, part of India’s largest privately-owned power company Adani, to provide a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system which will link Kudus to Mumbai, on India’s west coast. 

Mumbai is experiencing a rapid increase in electricity consumption, seeing peak demand increasing to 3,850 megawatts (MW) in 2022, of which around 2,100 MW was supplied from outside sources. The new HVDC link will supply up to 1,000 MW of electricity, increasing power from outside of the city by almost 50 percent. The link will strengthen the existing transmission infrastructure and help Adani to ensure a reliable power supply in the region. 

Globally, power loads in cities are increasing, especially in densely populated areas where land is already scarce, and difficulties can arise whenever new right-of-way must be secured for traditional transmission lines. HVDC technology enables large amounts of high-quality electricity to be delivered where it is most needed with complete control, with a very compact transmission system. 

Earlier this year Mumbai unveiled its Climate Action Plan, aiming towards becoming the first city to become carbon neutral in South Asia. The plan focuses on six sectors, including decarbonizing Mumbai's energy grid, building energy-efficient and climate-resilient infrastructure and promoting low carbon mobility solutions. This HVDC link will be a crucial step to modernizing the city and state grids, and essential to the fruition of the Climate Action Plan. 

Hitachi Energy has an impressive HVDC track record in India, where it introduced the technology over 30 years ago with the Vindhyachal project in 1989. Raigarh-Pugalur is Hitachi Energy’s sixth HVDC project in India and the second UHVDC installation, following the multi-terminal North-East Agra link.