Lights On Kerala: PGCIL's ₹170 Crore Grid Upgrade at Thrissur

Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) has been entrusted with the capacity augmentation of the Thrissur Voltage Source Converter (VSC) HVDC station in Kerala, under the Regulated Tariff Mechanism (RTM) route.

The National Committee on Transmission (NCT) has approved the proposal titled:
“Augmentation of 1×500 MVA, 400/220kV ICT (3rd) at Thrissur VSC HVDC Station in Kerala.”
The project is estimated at ₹170 crore and carries a gestation period of 24 months from the date of allocation by the Central Transmission Utility of India (CTUIL).

The augmentation has been necessitated by Kerala’s rising power demand, which peaked at 6,000 MW in May 2024, leading to heavy loading on interconnecting transformers (ICTs) at Kozhikode and Thrissur. The NCT highlighted that several ICTs were failing to meet the critical “N-1” contingency criteria, posing risks to grid stability.

To address this, the project includes:

Installation of a third 500 MVA, 400/220kV ICT, Addition of two 220kV line bays, Expansion of the 220kV GIS hall to accommodate six more bays

Thrissur is a key terminal of the ±320kV, 2000 MW Pugalur–Thrissur VSC HVDC link, which itself extends from the ±800kV, 6000 MW Raigarh–Pugalur HVDC corridor, forming a vital part of India’s southern grid integration strategy.

News by Rahul Yelligetti.