Odhisa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was quoted by Business Standard as saying that the project will be implemented in a phased manner over the next three years, with planned construction of 178, 165 and 150 sub-stations in the first, second and third phases, respectively.
"The project shall cover all the 30 districts with priority focus on the rural and semi-urban areas," Patnaik added.
The state energy department has already issued a tender for the project’s first phase, which covers construction of 33 and 11kv capacity substations on 25 September 2013.
Odisha currently has a total of 588 substations, with 193x33kV substations separated by a distance of over 30km leading to huge transmission losses, increasing the requirement for power distribution infrastructure upgrade, according to the news agency.
The scheme was announced considering the poor financial health of the state’s four power distribution companies (discoms), which are currently working on a IINR2.4bn ($38.8m) capital expenditure plan to develop distribution network.
Odhisa energy minister Arun Sahu said, ”The financial health of discoms being poor, it has become imperative for the state government to invest in power distribution infrastructure in order to provide quality power to the people of Odisha."
Additionally, the government has sanctioned INR1bn ($18.8m) for establishment of setting up of new substations and laying cable lines in 2013-2014 timeframe.
