With a goal of increasing the capacity of the 42.3 kilometer 132 kV Khimti to Lamosanghu transmission line which ultimately connects to the India – Nepal Transmission link, a critical corridor during wet and dry seasons, NEA selected 399.4 mm2 (786 kcmil) Cordoba size ACCC® Conductor to replace existing Bear size ACSR conductor. The upgrade more than doubled the ACSR conductor’s 100 MW capacity limit and is currently delivering 170 MW.
Modifications to the existing steel lattice structures was not required. The average span lengths through the hilly terrain were ~300 meters, with some pulls up to 1,500 meters due to terrain challenges. NEA worked closely with EPC firm Sigmacon who performed the installation using TSE equipment. ACCC® Master Installers Keshab Sahoo and M. Baskaran were on site to provide assistance. In addition to terrain challenges, crews had to work around very tight outage allowances on a daily basis. ACCC® Conductor for the project was supplied by Apar Industries and ACCC® Hardware was supplied by Dervaux.
