Satyajit Ganguly has over 36 years of experience in almost all facets of the power sector like power market, grid operations, generation, transmission, etc. After a five-year tenure as managing director (MD) of ONGC Tripura Power Company Limited, he joined North Eastern Transmission Company Limited (NETC) as MD in 2020. In his current role, Ganguly is responsible for maintaining transmission line availability through proactive operational measures and ensuring profitability through the reduction of interest on debt and regulatory interventions.
On the issues faced in the segment, Ganguly remarks, “Transmission project developers face challenges in land acquisition, and in obtaining RoW and environmental clearances. Inadequate investments at the intra-state level also pose challenges. There is also an urgent need to create liquidity in the market to sustain private interest. Further, state utilities need to ensure payment security to make their projects viable.”
Ganguly believes that the increasing use of modern technologies will help deliver transmission projects within strict timelines and with lower implementation risks and costs. “Some key technology trends are the deployment of double and multi-circuit lines, compact towers and gas-insulated substations to minimise RoW. The adoption of high temperature low sag and flexible AC transmission systems is increasing to enhance the power transfer capacity of transmission corridors,” he adds.
Ganguly takes pride in improving the transmission availability of NETC’s 662.8 km, 400 kV double circuit transmission corridor, which runs through difficult terrain in Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam, and faces challenges such as landslides and heavy rains, which cause tower submergence, tower endangerment and outages due to lightning. To address these issues, measures such as wall protection, stub encasement and pile foundations for towers have been adopted.
His top priorities for the organisation include efficient O&M of transmission and allied services, generating long-term value for stakeholders, improving standards in safety, health and environment, and empowering employees to realise their full potential.
Ganguly is an electrical engineer with a postgraduate diploma in business management and a degree in law. He is also a chartered engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers (India).