The Odisha State Government in India has approved plans to invest approximately INR66bn (€789.2m) in building smart grid and storm resistance power network by 2020.
As part of the investment, seven projects will be developed that are aimed at strengthening and upgrading existing power infrastructure in Odisha, Business Standard reported.
Odisha state finance secretary U N behera said that the recent approvals are over and above the earlier announced INR44bn (€526m) schemes, to be spent in two projects for establishing transformers, substations and dedicated feeders for agriculture.
"In total, we have approved nine projects of around INR110bn (€1.3bn) for strengthening power network in the state," behera added.
Currently, the Odisha Department of Energy is working on disaster resilient transmission and distribution system in Ganjam district with a total project cost of INR10bn. The government has approached Asian Development Bank for a INR7.13bn (€85.3m) loan for the project.
Other disaster resilient power network scheme includes developing robust infrastructure in areas within 50km of coast with an investment of INR18.2bn (€278m). This will be completed by 2017. The energy department has decided to establish a INR1.75bn (€21m) disaster response center in next two years.
The state energy department has planned State Capital Region Improvement of Power System (SCRIPS) scheme at an investment of INR15bn (€179.5m) to ensure reliable and quality power supply Bhubaneswar and Cuttack regions.
In the next three years, the government will spend INR14.5bn (€173.4m) on radial to ring conversion project dedicated to reduce transmission loss. The government’s other projects include INR2bn project to strengthen district headquarters power system and INR3.8bn (€45.4m) smart grid project for entire state in next three years.
According to Odisha Power Transmission chairman and managing director Hemant Sharma, the government has approved investment of around INR15bn (€179.5m) for the current fiscal year for all the schemes.
"For current fiscal we have got about INR15bn (€179.5m) for initial investment in all these schemes, whose DPRs are being prepared. We have applied to international financing institutions such as JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) for providing loans for some of our projects.
"We will arrange the remaining funds for all these schemes by end of this five year plan period (2017)," Sharma added.