Mumbai, Aug. 31 -- The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission sought technical clarity on grid connectivity for renewable projects totalling 59.2 megawatt (MW) in Palakkad and Malappuram. It directed Kerala State Electricity Board Limited and INKEL to provide additional technical and project details in a dispute over evacuation arrangements. The petition was filed by INKEL and its subsidiaries after KSEB Ltd. restricted connectivity at the 33 kV level to 14.4 MW/14.4 MVA.
INKEL argued that the limits in the Kerala Electricity Supply Code, 2014, apply to consumer loads and should not automatically cap generating stations. It said a 33 kV feeder capacity should be decided by conductor capability and voltage regulation rather than by a fixed ceiling, and sought permission to evacuate full project capacity via parallel 33 kV feeders where feasible. One project is a 36 MW solar?wind hybrid at Vadakarapathy with 18 MW of wind and 18 MW of solar.
The second scheme is a 23.2 MW group captive solar project at Panakkad, where INKEL temporarily reduced interactive capacity to 14.4 MW because of unresolved line interlinking issues, leaving remaining capacity pending. KSEB said evacuation above 14.4 MW would require an upgrade to 110 kV or special approval from the Commission for parallel 33 kV lines. KSEB referred to Regulations 4 and 57 of the State Grid Code and Regulation 8A of the Supply Code and noted that higher voltage limits may be exceeded by up to 20 per cent only under specified circumstances.
KSERC members emphasised the need for a swift resolution, noting that wind generation can support peak hour requirements while solar contributes during daytime and delays could increase project costs. The Commission said KSEB field officials were unable to provide complete technical information at the hearing and therefore directed INKEL to submit detailed PERT charts covering timelines, costs, injection points and execution status. KSEB has been given two weeks to file a counter?affidavit and INKEL will have one week thereafter to respond, while concerned KSEB chief engineers must attend the next hearing with full technical details.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.