28-30] Interview - CTC Global Corporation.qxp 10/8/2014 5:02 PM Page 28 Focus: Cables & Conductors We are very pleased with our progress in India US-based CTC Global Corporation has developed and owns the rights to the highly efficient ACCC (aluminium conductor composite core) technology. CTC is penetrating the Indian market with strategic tieups with two leading domestic conductor makers, Sterlite Technologies and Apar. ACCC conductors have been used so far by five state and two private utilities in India. We have Dave Bryant and Hitesh Mundhada jointly speaking on the progress that CTC has been making in the subcontinent. An interview by Venugopal Pillai. Dave Bryant — Dave Bryant, Director - Technology, CTC Global Corporation and Hitesh Mundhada, Regional Director - India, CTC Global Corporation We understand that CTC Global signed an agreement with Apar Ltd—the second in India after Sterlite. What has been the recent progress with Apar? CTC Global, the developer of the ACCC® “Aluminum Conductor Composite Core” signed an agreement with Apar Industries Ltd in January 2013 and since then progress has been good. Apar won ACCC projects in states like Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and more recently West Bengal. Besides this, last month they commissioned a small ACCC line (132kV) for a private company called IMFA in Bhubaneswar. 2014 is robust with the latest additions being two more projects from West Bengal power transmission utility WBSETCL. Equally, we are confident of exceeding the successes of 2013-2014 in 2015 and the years to come. Having completed five projects in India last year (in 2013), how do you see the order book for 2014? So far this year we have completed four ACCC installations with the help of Sterlite and Apar. Our order book for CTC Global is actively involved in upgrading power distribution lines. Tell us more, and also highlight your association with utilities like Tata Power and Torrent Power. Our association with private utilities Hitesh Mundhada Tata Power and Torrent Power has been very important as we now step into the installation of additional projects with each of these utilities. Customer satisfaction leading to repeat orders is the biggest reward we cherish through our ongoing association with Tata Power and Torrent Power. Efficiency and capacity attributes of the ACCC conductor help alleviate right-of-way (ROW) challenges which are major benefits to the private utilities in both distribution and transmission applications. Elsewhere in the world, CTC Global is doing extra high voltage lines like 533kV and 765kV. Do you see India as a big market for EHV power transmission? Power Grid Corporation of India owns and operates a network of more than 100,000 circuit km of transmission lines out of which the majority are 400kV and above. With advent of private sector participation and investment into EHV and UHV transmission lines the overall growth will be significant. ACCC can enable owners of EHV and UHV lines to reduce upfront capital costs due to its substantially higher strength and reduced sag compared to other conventional or modern conductors. This allows greater spans between fewer (expensive) structures. Tell us in brief about the core of the ACCC and how it brings about more efficiency compared with other conductors. 28 Electrical Monitor October 2014 28-30] Interview - CTC Global Corporation.qxp 10/8/2014 5:02 PM Page 30 Interview: CTC Global range and above. Considering that China and India both have aggressive plans to develop EHV and UHV projects, and the ACCC conductor’s advantages are well proven, CTC Global sees tremendous opportunity to support projects in the EHV and UHV range and help reduce upfront capital costs. Please summarize your growth strategy in India, say for the next 34 years. While more than 25,000 km of ACCC conductor has been deployed to nearly 300 project sites in 30 countries, India’s share has grown steadily over the last The ACCC conductor utilizes a hybrid carbon and glass fibre core that offers greater tensile strength compared to steel. The composite core is also about 70 per cent lighter than steel and has a coefficient of thermal expansion about ten times lower. The reduced weight of the core allows the incorporation of 25 to 30 per cent more aluminum (using compact trapezoidal-shaped strands) compared to any other conductor of the same diameter. The added aluminum content decreases electrical resistance which serves to reduce line losses. The high strength and low coefficient of thermal expansion reduces conductor sag and allows the conductor to carry up to twice the current of a conventional all aluminum or steel reinforced conductor. Additionally, the composite core has excellent fatigue resistance and will not rust or corrode. China was expected to be the first country to produce the ACCC conductor core, outside CTC Global’s sole facility in US. How are matters progressing? The new factory building was completed at the beginning of the year and the initial production lines are operational. CTC Global is rotating staff members from the California plant to help train the Chinese staff. The start-up phase is going quite well. Do you plan to soon have more stranding partners in India, after Sterlite and Apar? 30 Electrical Monitor October 2014 Globally, CTC Global has 19 stranding partners catering to various key markets. CTC Global is very pleased with the progress it has been making in India through its local stranding partners Sterlite Technologies Ltd. and Apar Industries Ltd. and will continue to work with them in tapping the high potential Indian market. India and China are making much headway into ultra-high voltage power transmission. How do you see opportunities for CTC Global in this regard? When CTC first introduced the ACCC conductor just over ten years ago, most of the projects completed were in the 34.5 to 345 kV range. A majority of these projects were undertaken to increase the capacity of existing transmission and distribution lines. In 2012 CTC began its largest reconductoring project with American Electric Power (USA) where the ACCC conductor is being used to upgrade an existing 345 kV line while the line remains energized. This single project is using over 2,300 km of ACCC. RWE in Germany and National Grid UK have completed 400 kV installations (in the EHV range) and UHV testing in Korea and China has demonstrated the ACCC conductor’s advantages in the UHV range. It’s noteworthy that CTC Global’s joint venture manufacturing partner in China, NARI, is a wholly owned subsidiary of China State Grid, who essentially controls all transmission projects in the 500 kV two years. In early 2013, Sterlite Technologies Ltd commissioned Tata Power’s first ACCC installation at the IIT-Saki line in Mumbai and late last year Tata Power placed their second ACCC order. CTC Global believes that repeat business from existing customers is one of the key means towards overall growth in India. Considering that India’s aggregated T&D losses are well over 20 per cent and the ACCC conductor offers a reduction in line losses ranging from 25-40 per cent over conventional conductors (under equal load conditions), ACCC conductor can certainly be used to help tackle the loss challenge while at the same time help increase the capacity of new and existing distribution voltage lines. Due to loss savings distribution utilities can hence increase their profitability and help more people gain access to the electric energy. On execution side, we are working with our stranding partners and EPC contractors to further reduce installation timeframes which could open up additional opportunities for new and reconductoring projects in both transmission and distribution voltage ranges.
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