Wildlife board clears 400kV power transmission upgrade in Bengaluru tech hub

BENGALURU: A recent clearance granted by State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) has paved the way for uninterrupted quality power transmission to the fast-growing technology corridor in eastern parts of the city. The longpending approval revived a crucial power upgrade project aimed at replacing the nearly 40-year-old 400kV transmission line that connected Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, and also linked eastern Odisha as part of the national grid.Commissioned in 1980s, the existing 400kV transmission line stretching between Somanahalli on Kanakapura Road and Mylasandra in Electronics City long served as a major power lifeline for eastern Bengaluru. Over the years, the same line was extended to connect additional receiving stations at Hoodi, Narasapura and Kolar. Further, the corridor was used for transmitting power to parts of Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh. However, rapid urbanisation, mushrooming of mega technology parks, multinational companies and large residential projects along east Bengaluru significantly increased the load on the line, pushing it beyond its designed capacity.A senior engineer from Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) said, “The existing transmission line is a critical source for the 400kV Mylasandra substation, which handles transmission of 1,500 MW to 2,000 MW of power on a daily basis. Due to the increased load, the station reported low-voltage issues, and ensuring quality power supply became a challenge. Further, any tripping of this line due to overload could potentially lead to cascading tripping of the entire 220 kV network within Bengaluru, severely affecting power supply.”While KPTCL initiated the project involving the erection of 24 towers and stringing of nearly 10km of transmission line, the work ran into hurdles as two of the proposed towers were located within Bannerghatta National Park (BNP). In addition, the project required destringing of existing transmission lines passing through the forest, necessitating approvals from both SBWL and National Board for Wildlife (NBWL). The proposal also faced strong opposition from conservationists, who expressed concerns that the new transmission line could pose risks to the elephant population within BNP.In response to these concerns, KPTCL engineers informed SBWL that no additional forest land would be sought and the height of the towers proposed inside the park would be increased to minimise disturbance. “We decided to replace the existing two towers at the same locations and also replace 1km of the deteriorated conductor that was installed nearly 40 years ago. We apprised the board that the height of the conductors will be increased by an additional 10 metres. Besides, we proposed reducing the right of way (RoW) of the corridor from 52 to 46 metres, thereby minimising the environmental impact,” said a KPTCL official.KPTCL also assured the wildlife board that, contrary to the standard ground clearance of 8 to 10 metres, the upgraded line will have a ground clearance of 15 metres, making it difficult for elephants to come into contact with the conductors. “Based on the revised design and mitigation measures proposed by KPTCL, we recommended the proposal to NBWL, subject to certain conditions,” a forest official said.