New Delhi : Adani Transmission Ltd (ATL) recently registered Rs 1.60 trillion market capitalization, becoming the second most valuable stock among the 6 listed entities in the Adani Group. The power transmission and distribution company, a subsidiary of the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate did very well for itself, with its shares hitting Rs 1,455.20 at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
This meteoric rise comes in the backdrop of its massive transmission networks and power distribution business. Adani Transmission is India’s largest private transmission company with over 17,200 ckt km of power transmission length and a transformation capacity of around 30,000 MVA. Incidentally, ATL is also India’s first private entity to own a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) line, which was installed as a part of a contract awarded by Adani to Siemens.
The company also owns the Mumbai’s power distribution business, serving about 3 million consumers in an area of approximately 400 square km. ATL is all set to build on this business by installing an HVDC transmission link to connect Mumbai’s outskirts to its licensed operating area. The project was earmarked as priority after the October 12, 2020 power outage which plunged Mumbai and its neighboring areas into darkness.
The planned HVDC project is also in line with the Centre’s vision of achieving ‘Power For All’ by 2020. ATL will draw on the experience and lessons learnt during the construction of Adani’s first HVDC line, whose contract was awarded to Siemens. The result of this Adani Siemens contract was the Mundra-Mohindergarh HVDC line – the first ever private transmission link in India.
Siemens, which by then had valuable experience in setting up such links, was contracted by Adani to make the project a success. It also conducted lectures and on-site training which contributed to smooth completion of the project. The lessons learnt from the Adani Siemens project will certainly be applied by ATL in Mumbai.
India’s power demand is set to quadruple in the coming years, with metropolitan cities being the highest consumers. This will raise private entities like ATL to the pedestal and make them valuable facilitators of power transmission in India.