Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project: No additional land required for transmission lines, claim officials

The officers of the Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. (KPCL) and Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL) maintained that the additional transmission lines to be laid as part of the Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project would not require additional land.

Answering a question during the interaction with the presspersons here on Monday, Suresh K., Superintending Engineer of KPTCL, said that the existing power transmission line corridor that connects Gerusoppa and Talaguppa would be upgraded from 220 kV to 400 kV capacity. “Using advanced technology, we will upgrade the existing 35-m corridor to transmit the power that will be generated. We will go for a special design of towers to achieve this goal without acquiring additional land,” he said.

Further, Mr. Vijay Kumar, Executive Engineer of KPCL, said that new transmission lines would come up connecting the project pump house to Talaguppa and the switch station coming up at Guttur. “We do not require additional lines to transmit additional power to be generated in the project”, he stated.

Asked why the KPCL was not providing the detailed project report to the environmentalists, who have been opposing the project, Ms. Shilpa D. Raj, Chief Engineer, said that the officers had provided whatever information they could share with the public. However, the DPR was a sensitive and technical document. “It includes sensitive data about our existing structures in the valley, which cannot be shared for security concerns. Otherwise, the public has access to the information we can share, she stated.

M. Madesh, Chief Engineer (Civil) at Kargal, told the media that the KPCL would be spending ₹33 crore of the corporate social responsibility fund of the KPCL for development activities in the Sagar and Uttar Kannada areas. The amount would be spent for the betterment of rural infrastructure and schools.