₹5,756-Crore Underground Power Cabling Project To Cover 11 Divisions In First Phase
Initiative aimed to improve the safety and reliability of power distribution: Project director V. Sivaji
HYDERABAD: The state government’s ₹5,756-crore project to replace overhead power lines with an underground cable network in Hyderabad’s Metro Zone will begin in the new year. The first phase would cover 11 divisions across four circles — Banjara Hills, Secunderabad, Hyderabad Central and Hyderabad South.
The first phase would include Banjara Hills, Greenlands, Saifabad, Paradise, Cantonment, Mehdipatnam, Charminar, Begum Bazar, Bowenpally, Asmangadh, and Azamabad. The tendering process for the two-year project has already begun. The works will be carried out under the direct supervision of TGSPDCL chairman and managing director Jitesh V. Patil.
Project director V. Sivaji said the initiative aimed to improve the safety and reliability of power distribution by shifting high-voltage overhead lines underground and replacing low-tension (LT) lines in narrow lanes with insulated aerial bunched cables. The network is designed to meet Hyderabad’s power distribution requirements for the next 30 years and beyond.
The first phase will cover about 1,243 11-kV feeders, 256 33-kV feeders and nearly 136 33/11-kV substations. TGSPDCL plans to lay 311 km of 33-kV underground cables, 5,772 km of 11-kV underground cables and 1,718 km of LT underground cables.
Another 6,251 km of LT aerial bunched (AB) cables will be installed in areas where underground cabling is not proposed. The existing 33-kV and 11-kV overhead lines will be replaced with tree-retardant cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) underground cables, while LT lines along main roads will also be shifted underground.
The proposed network will include about 4,555 Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)-based Ring Main Units (RMUs), comprising 210 units of 33 kV and 4,345 units of 11 kV. Another 9,946 compact 11-kV RMUs will be installed.
These units will facilitate remote monitoring, faster fault identification, and power supply restoration through alternative routes under the ring-main system.
Sivaji said the project is expected to reduce power outages caused by rain, strong winds, falling branches and lightning. It would also lower the risk of electrocution from exposed overhead wires. Removing electricity poles and overhead wire clusters is expected to free up footpaths for pedestrians and improve the appearance of city roads.
Officials said businesses, hospitals, IT companies and data-centre operators would benefit from fewer power interruptions. Consumers could also benefit in the long term from reduced technical losses, power theft and maintenance costs.
The underground network will also allow electricity staff to operate enclosed ground-level switchgear instead of climbing poles for maintenance.
Sivaji said horizontal directional drilling would be used at road junctions, main roads and sensitive locations to minimise open excavation and inconvenience to the public.
Where excavation is unavoidable, the executing agency will restore roads according to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) standards. The cost of road restoration has been included in the project.
Optical fibre ducts will be laid alongside underground power cables, enabling telecom and cable-TV operators to shift their networks from overhead poles to underground infrastructure. The proposed network will also support smart metering and automation.