Innovations in HV switchgear thriving India’s energy revolution

“By investing in modern and reliable HV switchgear technologies like hybrid and GIS, power companies can enhance the efficiency, reliability, and resilience of their power system.“

India’s growing energy demands have prompted significant investments in its power infrastructure, with a notable emphasis on renewable energy sources. To accommodate these changes, the construction of new substations, transmission lines, and power generation projects has increased, offering promising opportunities in the HV switchgear market. HV switchgear, including circuit breakers, disconnectors, and instrument transformers, plays a vital role in integrating renewables into the power grid and ensuring power stability by enabling increased capacity and reduced energy losses. However, the intermittent flow of energy from renewable sources poses challenges to power quality, necessitating the use of high-quality HV power products.

Furthermore, renewable energy installations are often situated in remote areas, posing challenges when connecting them to existing substations with limited space for conventional switchgear. A solution to this issue lies in the increasing demand for hybrid switchgear, such as the Plug and Switch System (PASS), which offers a more compact and cost-effective solution for space-constrained substations. These advancements not only contribute to the efficiency and reliability of the power system but also facilitate the quick restoration of power supply and effective fault management, enhancing the resilience of the power grid.

According to Rakesh Dwivedi, Senior Vice President, of High Voltage Products, Hitachi Energy India, “India has been making significant investments in its power infrastructure to meet increasing energy demands, particularly through renewable energy sources.” This includes the construction of new substations, transmission lines, and power generation projects, which provide significant opportunities in the HV switchgear market, including circuit breakers, disconnectors, and instrument transformers. “But the integration of renewables into the power grid is demanding because of their intermittent flow of energy, which directly impacts the quality of the power. This is where the HV Power quality products play an important role in improving power stability by enabling increased capacity and reduced energy losses”, he explains.

Renewable energy sources are also often located in remote areas. Consequently, connecting them to existing substations becomes a challenge, as these substations may not have sufficient space to accommodate conventional switchgear. There is a strong demand for hybrid switchgear, particularly the Plug and Switch System (PASS), which offers a more compact solution for space-constrained substations. Furthermore, it’s quite cost-effective and saves a lot of installation time. As each PASS module is equivalent to a complete switchgear bay with function integration, it leads to a footprint reduction of up to 60 percent compared to traditional solutions and minimises costs for civil work.

Also, HV switchgear contributes to the resilience of the power grid by enabling effective fault management, quick restoration of power supply, and reliable operation of the electrical system. It helps minimise the impact of faults and disturbances, enhancing the grid’s ability to recover from disruptions. Here, Dwivedi suggests “By investing in modern and reliable HV switchgear technologies like hybrid and GIS, power companies can enhance the efficiency, reliability, and resilience of their power systems. Thus, to avoid frequent breakdowns and interruptions in power supply, a timely upgrade of equipment and technology is essential.

Hence, HV switchgear is critical to the power industry for several reasons, such as protecting the power system by interrupting faulty circuits and restoring the supply. It automatically operates to safeguard the electrical network and prevent damage to equipment, minimising the impact of faults on the power supply.

India’s growing energy demands have prompted significant investments in its power infrastructure, with a notable emphasis on renewable energy sources. To accommodate these changes, the construction of new substations, transmission lines, and power generation projects has increased, offering promising opportunities in the HV switchgear market. 

For more details, visit: https://www.hitachienergy.com/in/en