Power Grid System in India – Part 2

Continued from part 1

Institutional structure of power transmission sector in India

Electricity is a regulated sector in India with Central Electricity Regulatory Commission at the central level and State Electricity Regulatory Commission in each of the states. Each of the five regions under NEWNE and Southern grids has a Regional Load Despatch Centre (RLDC), which is the apex body, as per the Electricity Act 2003). RLDC ensures the integrated operation of the power system in the concerned region. The RLDCs for all regions are located at Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and Shillong respectively. In line with the federal structure of governance in the country, every state has a State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC) in addition to the RLDC. SLDC is the apex body to ensure integrated operation of the power system in the state. The RLDCs in India are presently owned, managed and operated by the Central Transmission Utility (CTU) i.e. Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) while the SLDCs in the state are owned, operated and managed by the respective State Transmission Utility companies.

PGCIL’s wholly owned subsidiary Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) was formed in March 2010 to handle the power management functions of PGCIL. It is responsible to ensure the integrated operation of the Grid in a reliable, efficient and secure manner. It consists of five Regional Load Despatch Centres and a National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC). The NLDC is the apex body to ensure integrated operation of the national Power System. All these entities come under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Power, Government of India.

Role of Load Despatch Centres

As per the Electricity Act 2003, the Regional Load Despatch Centre;

• To monitor grid operations,
• To exercise supervision and control over the inter-state transmission system,
• To optimize scheduling and dispatch of electricity within the region
• To keep accounts of quantity of electricity transmitted through the regional grid.
• To carry out real time operations of grid control and dispatch of electricity within the region in accordance with the Grid Standards and Grid Code.

The functions of SLDC elaborated in EA 2003 are similar to that of the RLDC except the area of jurisdiction, which in case of SLDC is the state.

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