The Indian Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has officially inaugurated the Sasaram back-to-back high-voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnector project, built by ALSTOM, to complete the Indian national grid.

Built for Indian network operator PowerGrid, the Sasaram interconnector substation connects India's northern and eastern regional transmission grids, providing 500 MW more power to energy-starved Delhi in the northern region.

The Euro 50 million Sasaram project completes the loop that interconnects India's regional systems. The hydroelectric-rich north and south regions of India are now connected with the western and eastern regions, which have substantial coal reserves. The link at Sasaram, along with the previous two, will help to both stabilize the grids and alleviate power shortages across India.

On a turnkey basis, ALSTOM's Transmission and Distribution Sector supplied the back-to-back link at Sasaram, comprising a 500 MW pole operating at 205-kV DC, 2475A together with the required ac harmonic filters and a conventional switchyard. In addition to the transmission of real power between the regions, the links provided by ALSTOM also perform a reactive power control role, which helps to stabilize the network voltage.

Sasaram is one of three such HVDC convertor stations built in India by ALSTOM that enable power to be transferred from different regions in order to alleviate localized energy shortages and best utilize existing resources.
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